


REINVENT

by Nhitori



Series: The Knight Slept [5]
Category: Hatoful Kareshi | Hatoful Boyfriend
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-12
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-13 08:10:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5701210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nhitori/pseuds/Nhitori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i> My boy builds coffins, for better or worse.</i>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The two kings would be happy if they just kept to themselves; yet fear on one hand and a thirst for power on the other may bring even this new world to disaster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is fuckig weird and I know it. Consider TKSA chapter 52 the end of everything if you prefer to pretend REINVENT isn't here.

“Excuse me, conductor?” A refined and polite voice flagged down the darkly-outfitted man as he paced the aisles of the galactic railway, “Could you tell me… I died, didn’t I? Does this train lead to the afterlife?”

“It can. There are many places this train leads. To rebirth, to the afterlife, but… That’s not where you’re going,” The conductor slid into the seat across from this man.

“What? Am I going to space prison?” He questioned, twirling a bit of his hair absently, “Pity. I sort of thought that dying surpassed the statute of limitations…”

“No, there’s no such thing as space prison.”

“Is it called death prison?”

“Unfortunately, there is no prison for the dead,” The conductor shook his head, folding his hands but then immediately releasing them to point at the passenger’s eye, “No. You’re going to a place called Holiday Star. That scar on your eye, you didn’t have it while you were alive. That means this isn’t the first time you’ve died…” He shook his head, “Which means you belong on Holiday Star. I can’t tell you the details without compromising my position, but… That scar of yours is a remnant from another universe. It looks like it hurt, so I’d say you’re much better off in this universe.”

The passenger touched a hand to his eye, unable to avoid the impulse to slip a finger under his glasses and touch his eyeball, feeling what felt to the touch like a second pupil then promptly squeezing his eyes shut and grimacing.

“Well, don’t go touching your eye. Eesh, even watching you is painful… Well, just make sure to get off the train when we reach Holiday Star. I’ve spent enough time around you,” The conductor stood up again, giving this passenger one last pitiful look before leaving him alone in the train car.

Once left alone, the passenger who could not quite remember his name went digging in his pockets. Something told him that he should have wanted to find something like a compass in them, but he didn’t, and that wasn’t even surprising. All that was in his pockets… He emptied them onto the table in front of him. A box of cigarettes, three lighters, a box of matches, five pills (two were cyanide and three were ecstasy, but he couldn’t really tell the difference) and exactly 8.3 tabs of LSD. In other words, bad news. Despite not being able to remember his own name, none of these objects shocked him very much. Or at all, actually. He didn’t know what he’d been or what he’d done while living, but he was at least certain that it was nothing good.

That was the funny thing about dying. You can forget everything about yourself and your life, but you can’t escape your sins. Not that this passenger really cared much about those facts, and he discreetly stuffed the items back into his pockets. They might still have some use on this… Holiday Star, whatever that meant. Speaking of, the stop was announced, so he stood up and made his way to the door, stepping off the train and immediately being met with a dagger held at his throat, and a harsh glare from somebody who was almost as tall as him (quite a feat) and dressed in some sort of… Musketeer outfit? A quick glance revealed that he was dressed in something different himself, and his first instinct was to make sure that the pockets on this coat, a stylishly tattered thing, still held the same objects as his other coat. They did, so he turned his attention back to the man holding him at knifepoint.

“You. You’re one of them…” He hissed, pressing the knife closer to this intruder’s throat, “The King will decide what’s to be done with you…” He didn’t budge as he called out loudly, but with confidence, “Hiyoko!”

She was there immediately, having trained up her teleportation abilities from the very minute she arrived on Holiday Star. It had only been about eleven years, but with hard work and dedication she had made herself into the perfect royal guard, able to hear her name whenever called and be there in a heartbeat, “Oh, good job Nageki! You got one!” She clapped her hands together, then dashed around to the side of Nageki’s prisoner and grabbed his arms in a deathgrip that, even with all of his training, he just couldn’t figure out how to get out of. Before he even got the chance to say a word, Hiyoko had teleported with both him and Nageki in tow (a feat made possible not by her teleportation skill, but rather by her physical strength) and they were standing in some sort of throneroom.

The King looked up from the journal he was writing in, and made brief eye contact with each of the people who had arrived before staring at Yuuya for a good minute; and when he was done staring, he let out a sort of shriek and jumped out of his throne, hiding behind the back of it and glaring sheepishly over the top as he hissed out, barely audible, “Nageki. Hiyoko. What is… _that_ doing here….?”

“Nageki caught it!” Hiyoko responded brightly, tugging on her hostage’s arms to knock him down onto his knees, “Right when it got off the train! Didn’t he do a great job? Last time one of these showed up here, it was really violent, so it’s great that we caught it right away, right? Well, Nageki did. I just helped bring it here.”

“Eheh…” The King climbed over the back of his throne and got back into the seat, crossing his legs and his arms and looking away, “Right. The King says that Nageki did a very good job! Now… Now get rid of it.”

“Are you sure? If we send it over there, then…”

“No! Oh no! The Monster will get a new ally…” The King held his hands to his face as he shook his head tearfully, “Wahhh! The King says that we cannot keep it here either! It will escape from the dungeon and hurt us!!”

The prisoner in question was just too confused to say anything. He watched as The King continued to throw a temper tantrum over his fate, until a strong-built man stepped forward from the shadows and, with a warm smile, used a staff to tap The King’s shoulder, “Your highness. I believe it would be best if we did send it over there. The Monster is so powerful anyway, that if it did launch an attack on us, the number of allies it had wouldn’t make much of a difference.”

“You’re right… The King thanks Ryuuji. The King’s advisor is a very good advisor indeed!” The King was smiling again, and wiped his eyes before glaring daggers at the minor enemy before him, “You two. Get. Rid of it.”

“Right on,” Hiyoko nodded, dragging the prisoner away and smiling at her practical in-law when he waved enthusiastically at her. Nageki remained, knowing that he wouldn’t be of much use at this point, and stepped forward, closer to his king.

“My King… I’m curious. Can you tell me, what does the monster look like? Shirogane is the only one among your subjects who has ever seen him…” Nageki hesitated, then knelt down, “And… I would simply like to know,” He withheld the true reason, feeling that it was a bit too strange or petty to reveal to someone in authority.

“The Monster… Is a terrifying thing. It is as tall as The King, but it seems much taller because it is so scary. It dresses like a king but it is not a king. Only a monster. It is all dark, dark as its realm. When the moon is eclipsed and the portal’s direction switches, it will come for The King and it will destroy everything… Unless it is stopped.”

“Is it… Does The Monster look like a person?”

“The worst person ever to live. Yes. In life, it was a murdering human who had no heart. Now it is a monster and it hasn’t changed at all.”

-

After being tossed through the portal, the man who could not remember his name and had been referred to as an object… Was met with a much less harsh environment. Unlike the past location, which had been all glow and bright colors, this place was bathed in darkness. There were torches flickering with a faint and red flame lining the walls of the stairwell, but none in the body of the room which he found himself in. He could hardly see his hand in front of his face, and there was no way that he could have seen the girl sitting in the corner until she was right in front of him, holding out a hand to help him off the ground, “Welcome. My name is Kokoro, and you are in the Dark Palace. My King will be wanting to see you… Don’t worry. It will be a much better experience than what you surely went through, dealing with that blubbering fool over there…”

“What… What is this place?” He questioned, looking around, “And who… Am I?”

“I just told you. It’s the Dark Palace. The other half of Holiday Star… The other side of a civil war, if you will. As for who you are, don’t worry about that. The King will get you all sorted out, okay?” She smiled sweetly, and he nodded.

“Ah… I see. Thank you very much, mon amie. It’s… Not every day one gets welcomed into an evil castle by such a pretty girl,” He smirked a bit, then took off up the stairs. He seemed to move up them… Much faster, than he ought to be able to, especially when he wasn’t trying so hard to move this quickly. Maybe it was just a side effect of being sober and healthy when he’d been on the other side of those things for so long; he just seemed fast because he’d been so consistently slow before… But without any active memories of slowness, that couldn’t be the case.

Regardless of the cause or purpose, the stairs seemed to let out into a room which was only about as lit as the stairwell; it was awfully small, but very nice looking, with an entirely gothic design and windows which looked out onto a void; and with closer examination, to a slight bit of outdoor grounds which were very nice, but limited by the end of the landmass. After he was sure the window had nothing left to offer, he turned to look around the rest of the room. It had cozy architecture, much different from the other castle, which was made of wide open spaces. At least, what he’d seen of it. This room was full of pretty furniture, and seemed to be some sort of complete living space in its limited area. It had the idea of a throne room, but no throne… it was mostly a bedroom with a built-in kitchen, actually. He felt like he’d lived in similar places before, but couldn’t quite recall.

“Ah… Here you are!” A voice with a friendly tone broke the silent air, and he saw a shadow move from the bed which looked awfully comfortable. The waking person stood up and approached him, and it was obvious that this was… The King, of this part of Holiday Star. His outfit was identical to the other’s but for the color scheme.

“You’re… The King, right?” He questioned, raising his eyebrows and looking the man over. Attractive. Then again, he found many people attractive.

“That’s me. However… I’d prefer if you didn’t call me that. My name is Hitori Uzune,” He smirked a bit, leaning over and grabbing a book from the nightstand, “But, you’ll know all about me in a moment anyhow. Please, put your hand on this book,” He did as he was told, “See, it’s a collection of short stories. An awfully depressing read, seeing as it’s all about the lives of awful people, but no matter! It also holds our memories. Can you recall now, who we both are?”

“I…” He trailed off, blinked a few times, then nodded, “That’s right. I’m Yuuya Sakazaki. I was a police officer, until I got caught up with you and ended up… far, far on the other side of the law. And you were… You’re Hitori Uzune. A killer, infamous for murdering your lovers. But…” He paused for a moment, then smirked, “You didn’t kill me. Clearly, I outlived you.”

“Yes, you know, that is a regret of mine. My sentimentality to keep you around for just a little longer stained my record pretty badly… but that’s all in the past anyhow. I can’t very well kill you now, after all…” Hitori looked away, then smiled softly, crossing his arms, “But I did manage to ruin your life, so I guess that’s close enough.”

“Heh. Who says you ruined it?” Yuuya questioned, taking another step closer, grabbing the book and setting it aside, “Sure, it was a fucking mess, but it was… with you. Think I really would have stuck around thinking you were gonna kill me all that time if I didn’t enjoy it?”

“I’d say there was a fifty-fifty chance you were just too scared to leave,” Hitori shrugged, “It’s nice that’s not the case, though. Takes a load off my conscience.”

“Since when do you have a conscience?” Yuuya teased, putting a hand under Hitori’s chin and leaning down until they were at eye level.

“Well…” Hitori muttered, glancing away and blushing.

“My, are you getting flustered, your majesty?” Yuuya grinned, “That’s unbefitting, of a king… but it’s a nice look for you nonetheless.”

“You’re just as much a charmer as always,” Hitori chuckled, “Though, I can’t really say I expected you to still want anything to do with me or my ways after… how I died.”

“Well, I guess you could say that old habits die hard!” Yuuya shrugged, then moved his hands to dip Hitori down, obviously surprising him but strong enough to keep him from falling in his shock, and leaning down to be eye-to-eye with him once more, “So, mon amour, what say you we keep up that affair of ours?”

“Ahhh…” Hitori was too flustered to even answer, but the wobbly smile on his face was answer enough for Yuuya to at least close the space between them and kiss him.

“Get a room,” Another voice called from a corner, and Yuuya immediately stood straight up, managing not to drop Hitori, though the minute Hitori stepped away he tripped on his robes and fell over anyhow. Jeeze… he’d have to get used to the dark corners where people could hide. However, this was a voice he didn’t recognize in the slightest.

“You get out!” Hitori called from the ground, and the person stepped far enough into the light for Yuuya to get a look at him. A man whose eyes matched the colors of the court, dressed in just as trim an outfit as the others, with just the right amount of stylistic tatters to suit the scenery just right. Even his hair fit the idea of the period, tied loosely back with a violet ribbon, “Now that Yuuya’s here, you can spend as much time as you like in your own room, how about that? He’ll stay with me and be a guard whenever Kokoro fails,” He turned to Yuuya, “Right?” The man in question nodded. Of course he would protect Hitori.

“Well, in that case, I will gladly retire from my post. You two have fun… doing whatever,” That man turned and walked away, exiting through a far door. Hitori stood back up and sighed.

“Ehh… that’s Shuu Iwamine. He does what he’s told but he’s very annoying about it… I’m glad he doesn’t have to be my guard anymore,” He yawned, “I’m going back to sleep… tomorrow evening you can get acquainted with the rest of the court…” He stumbled back towards his bed, then collapsed onto it, royal attire changing to pajamas as he landed. He rolled over, but was asleep before he got the chance to grab any blankets.

Yuuya stood there and chuckled softly before walking off and finding a closet full of spare blankets, all very soft to the touch, and taking them over to the bed. Sharing a bed with Hitori Uzune was nine times out of ten a completely innocent endeavor, given his habit of falling asleep so quickly, and Yuuya only knew these statistics because of the number of cheap and less-cheap, when they got a lucky break, hotel rooms that they’d shared while alive. So he lay down, put the blankets on, and went to sleep himself, an arm protectively draped over his sleeping king.

Even now, even knowing what he’d done, Yuuya found it hard to believe that this man was the very same person who’d been so good at committing crimes that he never even needed to hide his name. The same person who’d made so many people afraid with those gruesome killings, and now he was sleeping so peacefully…

But then, Holiday Star was like that, wasn’t it?  
It promised happiness even for the worst people.


	2. Chapter 2

Yuuya was the first one to wake up, which wasn’t altogether unfamiliar, but still mildly strange. Despite Hitori’s habit of falling asleep, in life he wasn’t exactly good at staying asleep. Yuuya would sometimes wake up to his boyfriend still sleeping, but more often than not he’d wake to find Hitori already high off something or other, possibly doing something dumb. Not that he didn’t also do dumb things while high, but also, scribbling on hotel walls was something to be condemned regardless of if the condemner would do the same in that position.

Then again, Hitori never really seemed to care about maintaining the integrity of locations he went to. Yuuya had always wanted to take steps to cover their tracks, and Hitori had never given a shit. His name was known and he never used any aliases. It was some sort of ridiculous chaos theory on his part; anyone who’d believe he was the murderer would be too afraid to do anything to him, and everyone else would just think he was bluffing to be edgy. Not to mention the fact that he’d already proved he could handle being detained by the police…

Not that Yuuya really wanted to dwell on just how much of a failure he’d been. It was much more pleasant to think about the good times, as littered with drug-induced misery as those times could be. It was a whirlwind of a life at least, he had to admit that, and he couldn’t really say it wasn’t a good one. Nor could he say that he was a good person; a direct result of the way he’d become after quitting the force to run off, romantically involved with a man who had a confirmed history of murdering his romantic interests. Nobody ever said Yuuya was good at making decisions.

In any case, in the time it took for him to contemplate his life choices post-mortem, Hitori had begun waking up. He sat up slowly, then turned to look at Yuuya and smiled slightly, hair falling in his face possibly more than actually falling the way it was supposed to, “Good morning!”

“Morning!” Yuuya greeted him back, just as brightly, then stood up and stretched, “So… I’m going to be meeting my fellow aristocrats today? How exciting! I’d never actually met anybody upper-crust before dying!” Completely unacquainted with Sakuya Le Bel Shirogane, and having only met with Monsieur Le Bel very briefly and very early in his life, this was no lie. It was a long and complicated story, but the general gist of it was that he’d been caught killing an infant at the tender age of ambiguous toddler, and was sent away to an orphanage which would later ship him off to military school and shape him right up.

“That’s right,” Hitori nodded as he also got up, clothes magically changing again, though he did need a hair brush to fix the bedhead. He went rummaging around on the floor for one, among piles of miscellaneous things. The only thing keeping it from being a true mess was the lack of clothing, caused by his ability to change into clean clothes at a second’s thought. When he eventually did find a hairbrush and stand back up, Yuuya was standing right next to him, and took the brush. Not to brush his own hair, which had a tendency to at least be well-styled regardless of the trials it went through, but to brush Hitori’s for him. It was in fact, mildly strange, but after doing it once when Hitori wasn’t lucid enough to brush it himself, and leaving it any longer would result in something terrifying and discovering that it was actually fairly enjoyable, Yuuya took to doing it as often as he could. Hitori allowed it.

Once they were both ready, Hitori led Yuuya out of the room, holding his hand, “You’ve already met Kokoro, and Iwamine. So you just need to meet… Hoppe, Nishikikouji, and Akagi. The latter two will probably be together somewhere, so let’s find Hoppe first… She’s very nice, I’m sure that you’ll like her,” Hitori seemed a bit hesitant to introduce Yuuya to those other two, but certainly enthusiastic about this ‘Hoppe’ character.

“All right!” Yuuya shrugged, just following along. Despite Hitori saying that he needed to find the people in question, he seemed to know exactly where he was going. The palace’s narrow corridors were a practical maze, but he took each turn with purpose, and the very first door that he opened held the person he’d been searching for.

“Ah! Hitori!” She greeted him and stood up, putting down the phone she’d been using. Probably looking at memes on the space internet. THere were not a lot of memes on space internet. She’d probably already seen them all, in fact, “Who’s this? A newcomer?” She looked Yuuya over, then stared at their hands, and started giggling, “Ohhh… I see how it is…”

“Er,” Yuuya chuckled a bit, waving with his free hand, “My name’s Yuuya Sakazaki. I knew Hitori when we were alive. You’re Hoppe, right? It’s nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you too!” She nodded, then grinned as she tilted her head to the side, “Ah, I get it. You must have been murder buddies!” She waved a hand in the air as she turned around, strutting over to the window and continuing on with her airs, “What’s better than this? Guys bein’ dudes!” She laughed again, “That is… unless you’re… y’know…” She shook her shoulders a bit then turned and gave them a suspicious look.

“H-Hoppe!” Hitori blushed, taken aback and turning away, “Do… Do not speak to your king like that! It’s very disrespectful.”

“However, to answer your question,” Yuuya smirked, using that free hand now to turn Hitori’s face back towards him, in order to kiss him. Hoppe just broke into another giggling fit. Did that girl ever stop laughing?

“I knew it!” She jumped up in the air, spun in a circle, then sat back down before the dizziness from one single twirl made her fall over. She was /very/ envious of Kokoro’s ability to spin several hundred times without falling over.

“...Chill,” Hitori instructed her, bringing a hand up to try and cover his red cheeks, “In any case… I guess that you should meet Nishikikouji and Akagi now, shouldn’t you…” He still sounded loathe to introduce them, but it seemed he had no choice anymore.

“That’s right-” Yuuya couldn’t even finish his sentence before he was being dragged away again, and once more it was a very direct route, although upon arrival at the room Hitori knocked. He hadn’t bothered knocking when finding Hoppe, but in this case he grimaced as he rapped his knuckles against the door. A call from inside asking the pair to wait a moment only confirmed the necessity of this action, until the door was thrown open and they were face-to-face with a man who seemed to be all limbs.

“To what do I owe this pleasure, your majesty? Oh, and…” His eyes flickered across them, then he smirked, “I see that you’ve taken a consort yourself! But, you know I have always been willing to extend my duties-”

“Stuff it, Nishikikouji,” Hitori grumbled, glaring right through him, “Yuuya Sakazaki is not my ‘consort’, he is my boyfriend. And I still refuse to believe that you’re telling the whole truth about your relationship with the princess.”

“Paranoid as always, highness!” Tohri rolled his eyes, then threw an arm around Hitori’s shoulder, “Honestly! How many times must you be proved wrong before you realize that all I am doing here is fulfilling the princess’s needs?”

“I don’t want to spend more time than I have to around you…” Hitori mumbled, removing Tohri’s arm from his shoulder gingerly, “I’m only here because I wanted Yuuya to meet every member of the court.”

“You’re really still like that, when it comes to me? Come on, Uzune. You’re a murderer. A serial killer, even, and you want to avoid me, when all you have to go by are rumors that I behaved a bit strangely towards a few girls?” He clicked his tongue, shaking his head, “What a hypocrite you can be.”

“Well, given that you’re here, they clearly aren’t just rumors. You did something,” Hitori hissed, then shook his head and said matter-of-factly, as if her couldn’t believe anyone could ever think differently, “Killing people is an entirely different thing from what you did! Dead people can’t be traumatized for life! They’re _dead_.”

While Hitori and Tohri argued with each other, Yuuya had slipped into the room and made his way over to where a girl in a dress that looked as if it was made of crystals, and would be… rather painful to move in, was sitting in a very nice chair. The sleeves on the dress were sewn shut on the end, which made him wary, “Hey. Are you okay?”

“Hm? Oh… you’re here to be introduced, aren’t you?” She spoke softly, frowning. Her eyes seemed glassy and empty, “I don’t much like introducing myself, but I’ll do it for you. I’m… the princess. Yoshiko Akagi,” She turned her head to the side, letting her hair fall in her face, “Though, it’s really just a title. I’m not related to The King or anything. If anything, I only have it because that’s what Nishikikouji’s called me all this time…”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah… Nishikikouji and I were here before anyone else was, even The King. We were just… banished from the other kingdom, after he tried something with somebody over there…” She shook her head, chuckling softly, “That’s just how things are, though, isn’t it…?”

“You…” Yuuya faltered, staring at her, and she just smiled as she spoke again.

“One man’s heaven is another man’s hell.”

“Oi! You!” Nishikikouji shouted over before Yuuya could respond, “You’ve clearly been introduced now, so I would very much appreciate if you could both get out immediately. I find you two very unpleasant, and I can’t say I give a flying fuck about the authority of this ‘King’ here.”

And the door was slammed as the both of them were pushed outside, then both sighed. What an exhausting person, that Tohri Nishikikouji.


	3. Chapter 3

“Why do you even keep that guy around…?” Yuuya muttered to Hitori as they walked away from that room which was full of unpleasantries, “You obviously don’t like each other, and he really creeps me out. The princess didn’t exactly seem very happy.”

“Trust me, he’d be long gone if it was possible, but…” Hitori frowned, crossing his arms, “He always seems to manage to get away, anytime I try to do anything to him.”

“What do you mean?” Yuuya questioned, crossing his arms and frowning.

“In order to erase somebody from existence, their body must be torn apart in such a way that it couldn’t possibly heal; major body parts separated and thrown away, for example, or just completely tearing someone to pieces. I attempted these things, in the past, but… By some coincidence, he always got out of it somehow. It’s like the universe wants to keep him here, for some reason. I don’t get it, he’s not worth anybody’s time…”

“So basically… You’re stuck with him and he’s awful?” Yuuya questioned, and Hitori nodded.

“The only good thing about the situation is that he’s at least agreed to assist in my plan,” Hitori shrugged, tucking his hair behind his ear and adjusting his crown, “I just do my best to avoid him whenever I can, and I have a pleasant afterlife.”

“Your… Plan?” He asked, confused. Did this have anything to do with what the other king said about a monster getting more allies? He hadn’t quite realized that Hitori really was, as the light court said, The Monster, but it certainly made sense in this situation that he would be.

“It’s…” Hitori hesitated, “Well, there’s going to be a lunar eclipse, and the direction of the portal they sent you through will reverse. We’ll be able to go into the other half of Holiday Star, and launch… Let’s call it an invasion. That’s practically what it is, anyhow.”

“And… Why?” Yuuya didn’t seem put off by the idea, only curious.

“Because we’re at war. Their king, he hates me…” Hitori paused, standing still for a moment and blinking before shaking his head and smiling again, “And besides. It would be nice, to have more space for ourselves than just this palace, don’t you think? It’s very nice, but…” He shrugged, laughing, “And, I mean, the light court is undeniably the true rulers of Holiday Star! I’d rather have that crown than this worthless one. I can’t even get all of my subjects to listen to me right now.”

“Ah, there it is. You just want to be in charge!” Yuuya laughed, then narrowed his eyes, “At least, that would be characteristic of you… But it still seems to me like you’re lying.”

“Doesn’t it? There’s a million plausible reasons out there, but it just boils down to… This is how it is, I suppose. Our courts, we’re natural enemies. This is the way it has to be,” Hitori spoke quietly, stopping in his tracks again and staring at his hands until Yuuya turned around and grabbed them, smiling softly at him.

“Well, that’s not so important, is it? We can worry about that… Some other time?” Yuuya offered, shrugging, and Hitori nodded.

“Right. We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it,” Hitori’s smile returned, and he visibly relaxed, “For now, let’s just…” He yawned, “Take a nap…” As he said that he fell forward, leaning against Yuuya, who grabbed his shoulders and stood him back up.

“Hitori! At least wait to fall asleep until you’re back in your room. I don’t know my way around this place yet, so I’m afraid that I can’t carry you there…” Yuuya chuckled, and Hitori nodded slowly.

“Right, right… It’s…” He waited a moment, then nodded again and started walking, holding onto Yuuya’s hand again to lead him, “This way…” it was impossible for Yuuya to try and keep track of what direction he was taken in, so he determined it would be a very long time until he was able to navigate the castle on his own. Then again, would he really want to navigate it on his own? It wasn’t long until the two of them were back in Hitori’s room (or was it both of theirs now? Yuuya wasn’t sure what to consider anything at the moment) and sitting down on the bed.

Hitori was of course, already falling asleep, but Yuuya decided to at least steal one kiss. As he pulled away, however, he looked up to see somebody there. Running on adrenaline, he grabbed this person’s wrist without even taking in any fact about the situation. Who it was or what they were trying to do. That came after he’d detained them.

It was a man with ice blue hair, and in the hand which Yuuya had immobilized was a rather fancy looking dagger. They locked eyes, then Yuuya grinned, “...And may I ask you, sir, what exactly you are doing?” No answer, “Well I mean, it looks an awful lot to me like an assassination attempt!” The man scoffed, but otherwise did not respond, “Yes, that’s what I thought!” Yuuya chuckled, then pulled the dagger out of the attacker’s hand before turning it on him, the man vanishing immediately the moment the blade pierced his heart.

Yuuya sighed, but couldn’t say he was surprised that the light court (as that man was clearly a member of) would make attempts on the life of his king… He turned the knife over in his hands, examining it and finding it inscribed with a name. Le Bel. Hm, that seemed almost familiar…

-

“Ugh!” A distinctly haughty voice shouted out into what he expected to be an empty room, finding instead two people seated against a far wall, who he immediately stormed up to, “Were you two just waiting here for me!? Did you assume that I would fail!?”

“Well… yeah,” Hiyoko nodded simply, “No offense to you, honest! It’s just that you’ve never succeeded before. You always get killed, and sent back here. Stabbed through the heart this time?” She asked casually, noting that he was holding a hand to his chest. He took a step backwards, glaring at her.

“Yes. What do you want?” He groaned, staying standing while the other two sat.

“Just to talk,” Her companion, Nageki, spoke up. He’d really just brought Hiyoko along as brute squad backup, in case Sakuya was particularly unwilling to humor him, “You’re the only one of us who can teleport quickly enough to get past the guard they’ve got right at the portal. So you’ve seen The Monster… I asked The King to tell me what it looked like, but his answer wasn’t very useful.”

“And what makes you think that I want to speak to you? Why do you even want to know?” Sakuya questioned, stomping his foot and crossing his arms.

“Well, I don’t think you want to speak to me, but I was hoping you would anyway,” Nageki sighed, “Knowing you, you won’t cut me a break unless I give you a really good reason, right?”

“Of course not. I require a plausible and worthy purpose behind absolutely everything!” He hesitated a moment, grasping for a reason. He felt like he’d been hurt in the past, by someone refusing to give him a good reason for why they’d done something, but given the lack of any active memory he couldn’t very well say that, “It’s only logical!”

“Fine. I’ll tell you why,” Nageki sighed, then turned to Hiyoko, “Can you leave? I don’t want anyone more than absolutely necessary knowing this.”

She nodded, and dashed out of the room, leaving Nageki alone with Sakuya. They were glaring at each other, but that was pretty normal, “Shirogane… I was one of the first people here, along with The King. The first of those creatures to come here… There were two of them, and they actually stayed on this part of the star for a while. They mostly kept to themselves, and didn’t hurt anybody, but then one of them overstepped some bounds and we banished them through that portal. We had no idea where it led. The night they were banished, I got stabbed at the train station by somebody moving so quickly that I could only see them as a shadow. I found out later that they’d fled through that same portal…” He paused, taking a few breaths.

“I don’t need your entire afterlife story. Get to the point already,” Sakuya frowned, crossing his arms, “Or I’ll leave.”

“I guess all you need to know is that there are seven of those things. Six of them have been here, but The Monster arrived on the other side of the portal directly so I’ve never seen him. The identities of two of those things are unknown; the guard, and the one who keeps posting on social media…” Nageki put a hand on his chin, “They arrived on the train. Tell me, you’ve seen them. They look human, but are they?”

“I…” Sakuya took a step backwards, clutching his chest again then turning to stare at the ceiling, “They don’t have planispheres, and they aren’t dreaming. They’re complete anomalies… Of course they aren’t human.”

“You say that, but…” Nageki frowned, looking away, “I’m starting to think that maybe we’re wrong. We just want to keep believing that they’re heartless monsters so we don’t feel bad about attacking them… Isn’t that right? I know I’d never pull a knife on an actual person, but it’s fine if they’re just… things. But what if they aren’t? They arrived on the train, doesn’t that mean they had lives too?”

Sakuya froze where he stood, then dropped to his knees, staring at the brightly tiled floor beneath him before whispering, “You’re completely right, Fujishiro…” He took a deep breath, “They were people. At least once, they were. Not anymore, though. I don’t think so. I’ve recognized two of them. Both were criminals. Definitely… real people, back then, but I really don’t think they’re supposed to still exist. Maybe they were human once, but they were horrible people, and they clearly aren’t anymore. We shouldn’t feel bad about our aggression towards them. If we can’t get rid of them by the eclipse…”

“I understand. If we hesitate, then we’re doomed, and yet…” Nageki turned away and starting walking towards the door, looking back at Sakuya as he went, “I can’t help but feel like… we’re missing part of the picture here. Thank you for telling me. I can’t imagine I could get you to tell me… which criminals they were?”

“Of course not. What do you take me for, a charity?”

“Right,” Nageki nodded slowly and went outside, then pulled out his phone. Space internet was pretty lacking, but there were occasional posts, mostly from somebody from the dark court who posted under the name of ‘awesomepenguin243’. Nageki wondered where awesomepenguins one through two hundred and forty-two were every time he saw them post, though he usually ignored them. He even had them blocked, or at the very least muted, on several different platforms; they just seemed to be everywhere anyway. It wasn’t very good policy to read the enemy’s tweets, but… at this junction, he couldn’t really help his curiosity.

Or, well, he was about to when he was startled out if it by none other than his backup, “Hey Nageki!” She shouted as she got to her feet, “You were in there for a long time! Did he answer you? Did he? Did you get a useful word outta the ice prince???” It was a stupid nickname, but she gave those to many people.

“Sort of. He still wouldn’t tell me anything except that all those creatures… they never stop looking human, so I guess it’s not just some guise to fool us. They’re humanoid… and, well, apparently. They really are like us, in one way. They had lives. Real lives, before coming here,” He frowned, kicking at the ground, “You’d think that in a place like this, any wars would be objective. Not like life at all, that we’d be the good guys and they’d be the bad guys. I mean, it is that way when it comes to the conflict,” He shrugged a bit, “The Monster wants to overthrow our king and take over the star. We have to stop it from doing that. But…”

“But if they had lives, that means that they’re probably…” Hiyoko’s enthusiasm drained right from her face, “Those things… were human once…” She shook her head, clutching her hands to her chest, “That means, they had feelings! Maybe they still do! Maybe they’re just as scared of us as we are of them…”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far. All we’ve done to them so far is send an unsuccessful assassin after The Monster on a regular basis. And… it wasn’t like they were all that good, when they were alive. The only reason Shirogane could even tell that they’d had lives before is because he recognized them as wanted criminals from the news.”

“Oh,” She was immediately less distressed, “Well then, that’s not so bad anymore. I mean, the way those things act now… and the fact that they were bad people in life… I’d guess that any humanity they had in them is totally gone now, okay? So we shouldn’t worry about it!” Hiyoko assured him, and he just nodded a bit. She was right. He didn’t have time to feel bad.

Those things… were not anyone at all anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

Within a week of his arrival at The Dark Palace, Yuuya began wearing an eyepatch. The mysterious scar which had appeared in his eye was, after all, rather strange. He felt that it somewhat detracted from his facial profile, so he’d asked The King if there was any way to get ahold of a patch; and the eyepatch, on the other hand, was quite sexy in his humble opinion. He went from having a worse appearance than his original to a better one, so it turned out to be quite the win in the end.

Aside from that, however, not very much seemed to actually happen in The Dark Court. Occasionally that teleporting assassin would appear again, and every time he would be thwarted either by Yuuya or by Hitori himself. What sort of an assassin gets his knife taken away by and then noogied by his target? This one, apparently. It was all for the best that he was so incompetent, anyway, because while he clearly didn’t die when he was killed, Yuuya was unsure of what would happen if a member of the dark court was slain by a member of the light one…

It was funny, wasn’t it, that things had turned out this way? He knew that he hadn’t been the best person in life, and other members of the court clearly weren’t, and yet he still felt as if he’d experienced unnecessary aggression on the part of the good guys. It wasn’t as if any of The Dark Court was even capable of launching an attack on them until the eclipse came around, so really, they were mostly harmless. The Light Court also shouldn’t be the type of people to jump to that level of violence towards a fellow human being, right? It was almost baffling to him, until he remembered how they had referred to him, and how their king had referred to Hitori.

“It”. “The Monster”. Of course that was it. Whatever force of destiny had decided that they would be so frankly at odds had also twisted their view, because of course good people wouldn’t do something like that unless they were convinced that the ones they were hurting had no single scrap of humanity. That they were only beasts who aimed to destroy… Yuuya had to wonder if that was the truth, though. Maybe it was. Maybe if he and the others were not defeated by the eclipse, it really would mean the utter downfall of their enemies…

He would like to believe otherwise, however, and he couldn’t think on it too hard. His moral compass had been torn to shreds long ago, and even if it did turn out that the true royalty of Holiday Star were correct in their assumptions of heartlessness and monstrosity… he couldn’t say that he really cared much. And that lack of caring, well, didn’t that just prove them right?

Yuuya sighed, standing up from where he had been, sitting next to and leaning against a window. In any case, he had things to do today. Despite the lack of interesting things happening in the last weeks, there was a meeting today; which, was bound to be quite the event. Having a discussion on the court’s upcoming actions with… every single member, well, that wasn’t his idea of fun. Maybe if Nishikikouji wasn’t going to be there, he’d be less loathe to get over there…

And, well, if he knew where he was going. Hitori had gone on ahead of him, needing to be the first one there out of prerogative as king, but Yuuya had been the one who asked to stay behind a little while longer anyhow. Of course, this meant that he was bound to get lost on his way there. He was on his way out of the door when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye and whirled around, immediately having that assassin’s wrist in his hand again.

“Y-You…” Sakuya hissed, “You’re just a consort of The Monster, aren’t you? I’ve seen you-”

“Well, maybe you should stop teleporting in here so often? It would certainly remedy the issue of you seeing things that I’m sure you would rather not,” Yuuya just smiled sweetly, “As for my speed, well, I am a man of many talents!”

“You’re just some mongrel beast, that’s what you are!” Sakuya snapped, trying to pull his wrist away but finding he was firmly stuck. After all, growing up as a Le Bel never really included much training in strength or how to escape holds.

“Am I really? You’re the bloodthirsty one. I’ve only been killing you in defense, and well, seeing as it’s clear that you don’t actually die,” Yuuya chuckled as he snatched the knife away, tossing it into a drawer with the many others, “Go on, shoo. I’m sure that since you’re a member of the light court, you can go through the portal and return home peacefully… I don’t really feel like stabbing you today!”

“You…” Sakuya narrowed his eyes, previous anger and determination melting away to confusion as he took a step backwards, then crossed his arms, “You’re… sending me home? Without harming me?”

“Well, like I said, it isn’t as if I enjoy hurting you. Uzune might, but that’s just how he is, I’m sure he wouldn’t disapprove of me doing this!” Yuuya waved a hand dismissively, “And, regardless… even Uzune just kills people. I’m not sure if any of us are fond of causing pain except perhaps Nishikikouji, but we don’t like him anyway! Oh, and Iwamine likes to study it, but I’m not sure if he cares aside from research. He’s more heartless than cruel! I suppose that holds true for most of us.”

“But… My King, he tells me that you lot are machines…” Sakuya frowned deeper, “That you are not human at all… just monsters who want to hurt people. I put the utmost faith in My King, but you are not corroborating this statement…”

“Well, perhaps we aren’t human at all! That may be the case, that we really are all monsters… after all, even when we were humans, we were quite nasty! I can’t speak for the princess, but Nishikikouji… well, I already mentioned him, Iwamine too... Uzune and I, well, we fell into a sort of rut. Substance abuse, murder, jaywalking. Kokoro was involved with yakuza and ordered the deaths of many enemies, Hoppe killed people who were responsible for the deaths of her close friends… my, we certainly are a rotten lot! But, I also can’t say that any of us, not even Nishikikouji, has a single-minded determination to cause pain…”

“I see…” Sakuya nodded slowly, then turned around, “These stairs, right?”

“Mmhm!” Yuuya nodded, then waved with a grin, “I have to get to a meeting now. Until next time, Mr. Assassin!”

“My name is Sakuya. Sakuya Le Bel Shirogane,” He corrected him; Sakuya did not like introducing himself, but he disliked even more being called by a name which was not his own.

“Well, see you, Sakuya!” Yuuya nodded as he too turned around, leaving the room to go and find the meeting room in this maze of a palace; luckily, it only took about ten minutes of aimless wandering. It could have been much worse, after all.

In the meeting room, there was only one chair remaining; next to Nishikikouji. Which was odd, given the fact that the princess was sitting on the aforementioned man’s lap, his arms restrictively wrapped around her waist. Her face looked very dead, and Yuuya took the seat with hesitance while mentally berating Uzune for this entirely unintelligent interior design. Speaking of, he seemed to be in a glaring match with Nishikikouji at the moment. At least he wasn’t being completely passive about this.

“Well, if everybody has finally arrived, I believe it is time we begin,” Shuu started, leering at Yuuya for being so late, “And, I would like to put forth a proposal. I hear from Kokoro that others have been coming through the portal recently… besides that teleporting assassin. Is this true?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t lie to you, Iwamine. Though, I can see why you might suspect it,” She responded lazily, leaning on her hand.

“In any case, I would like to conduct… Experiments. I want to research what exactly makes them tick, you see. I would ask permission, and for Kokoro to capture the next one which comes through rather than killing them immediately.”

“I don’t know…” Hitori frowned, “I don’t really want to hurt anybody, at least, not until I have to.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I will certainly use anaesthesia, in this case. My intention is not, currently, to determine the pain threshold of the enemy. Rather, I just want to see if their physical composition is different from ours, or from that of a regular human. I do have a reference point, thanks to Hoppe’s generous contribution of allowing me to perform an anesthetized dissection on her in the past.”

“My insides felt weird for an entire week after that!” Hoppe added enthusiastically from across the table.

“I see…” Hitori muttered in annoyance, “I hadn’t heard of this before…”

“Well, Doctor Iwamine knew you wouldn’t approve of him so intimately examining the body of your practical younger sister,” Hoppe shrugged.

“It’s even worse when you say it like that!” Hitori hissed, practically bristling. The feathers on his cloak actually seemed to be standing up, and he was scowling deeply.

“Regardless of any personal issues between you and I, I do believe my idea of investigating the physical nature of the light court would be beneficial on all points. If we are to conquer their portion of the star it is best we know as much as possible about them… and, in the event of any of them remaining your subjects, it will be best if I am aware enough of their anatomy and physiology to properly fulfill my duties as a clinician,” That seemed to get Hitori, and he shrunk again, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away.

“Fine,” He muttered.

“Thank you,” Shuu nodded, then looked around the table, “Now then, are there any other matters to discuss in particular?”

“Anybody?” Hitori asked, looking around the table, then nodded, “I see. In that case, no, there is not. However, I do have some news. I have finally been able to pinpoint the exact time when the lunar eclipse will occur… our next meeting will continue on our regular schedule and be in two months, but following that, meetings will be more common for the purpose of completing the plan for the eclipse. The eclipse is slightly over a year away from now… and we will only have the one opportunity, or else we would need to wait another forty years for the same sort of eclipse to occur. Anything could happen in that time, so I would much prefer to complete our assault sooner rather than later.”

“I agree entirely,” Tohri added in, smirking, hand now over the princess’s mouth.

“I don’t give a _fuck_ if you agree, Nishikikouji!” He snapped, suddenly bristling again, and his eyes almost seemed to glow slightly. Yuuya watched him go through all these strange visible changes, taking note of them. Hitori… really wasn’t human anymore, perhaps less so than any of them. It was as if everything about him reacted in response to his emotion… Yuuya hadn’t ever really noticed it before, but he would have to see what happened if he got Hitori particularly flustered sometime… and, he couldn’t pretend it wasn’t attractive to see Hitori standing against Tohri’s bullshit, too.

“Well, aren’t I allowed to state my opinion?” Tohri questioned snottily, turning his head, “Don’t get angry, highness, it doesn’t suit you. Rather grotesque, really.”

“Until you learn to respect my authority your opinion is meaningless!” Hitori growled, standing up from his seat, and the extent of his visible anger was much more clear as his tattered cloak flared out around him, every feather accent on it seeming to quiver with rage.

“And what made you King anyhow!?” Nishikikouji took a moment before standing up violently, shoving the princess to the ground. She didn’t make a sound besides a thump as she hit the ground, “I was here first! Iwamine and I are both much more intelligent and competent than you, for example… Kokoro has much more experience in leadership and planning attacks… and you are most certainly not the most ‘evil’ of us. So why is it you, who’s The King here?”

“You’ve done far more disgusting things than me Nishikikouji, but,” Smirking, he shook his head, “No, you’re not more suited to this position at all. Being disgusting and being horrible are two entirely different things.”

“In any case, what have you done for your subjects anyhow? Planning some attack that’s doomed to fail, given what we know of the light court? And as I said, you were not even the first person here…” Tohri smiled softly as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun, pointing it at Hitori, “So, this is a mutiny.”

“What, a one person mutiny?” Hitori scoffed, unintimidated by the weapon, especially given that Yuuya had already moved with that strangely increased speed to take it from Tohri’s possession.

“Not! One person! I’m sure the others will agree with me!” Tohri insisted, putting his hands on his hips and grimacing, clearly not as confident as his words would suggest, but still going to the length of standing aganst… something. Hitori wasn’t quite somebody, especially not as he was in this moment.

“I can’t say I care,” Shuu mumbled, leaning over to try and help the princess to her feet. A small gesture of apology for the times when Tohri had him cut out her tongue. It grew back eventually, of course.

“I don’t want you in charge…” The aformentioned chimed in despite knowing she’d later face the consequences of her words.

“I’m siding with Hitori,” Hoppe shrugged. Kokoro and Yuuya nodded along.

“I-” Tohri hesitated, taking a step back, then pointing at the princess, “Yoshiko! We’re leaving!”

The mention of her name at that time, however, was quite the mistake. It just reminded Hitori of just how much he disliked Nishikikouji, and he stepped forward, walking over the table to slowly approach Tohri, who was now frozen in place. The room was filled with an awed silence as Hitori approached this enemy. He looked absolutely terrifying as he reached out and grabbed Tohri around the throat, tilting his head and grimacing, “Why… do you still exist…”

“A better question, is why shouldn’t I…?” Tohri choked out, actually looking frightened for once in all the time Hitori had dealt with him. He’d already tried teleporting away, but found himself somehow incapable in this moment. He was helpless. Hitori just hissed angrily in response to the question, pressing harder.

“Oh, for one thing,” Yuuya offered the answer that his king couldn’t give, striding forward with the gun fit comfortably into his hand. Too comfortably. He knew he had never seen this exact gun before, it was nowhere in his memory, but it felt familiar in his fingers, “You spent the entire meeting with the princess in your lap? Fucking gross.”

“I’m just doing my job as her consort! Maybe you’re just not doing yours well enough-” This comment managed to get Tohri’s windpipe closed off completely, and he sputtered breathlessly, flailing under Hitori’s hands for a moment before just locking eyes with him, still and fearful, but resigned to his fate.

Resignation that would never be fulfilled. As if he had been shot in the chest, Hitori suddenly reeled backwards, then fell to the floor, staring at his own hands and breathing slowly. Tohri grabbed the princess’s arm and ran off as quickly as he could, dragging her along as the remaining members of the court other than Shuu (who, being a doctor, really should have been the first one at his side, but ah well,) rushed over to Hitori. Yuuya crouched down right beside him, cupping his cheek, “Ah, mon roi? Are you all right…?” His first concern was for Hitori’s well-being, of course.

“I’m… fine…” Hitori muttered, then shook his head, “Ah, no. I mean that I’m okay. Fine… always has been and always will be a lie. But, I mean it when I say I’m okay. No physical injury whatsoever…” His appearance seemed to have calmed again, his eyes glassy and cloak limp.

“In that case…” Yuuya sighed, then furrowed his brow, “What was that about? You had him.”

“It’s an embarrassment to my position, honestly,” Hitori shook his head, chuckling somewhat bitterly, “It was so odd. I thought, that I saw my first love in his place. For only a moment… but, what’s even worse, is that I cared about that fact,” He frowned, turning to look at Yuuya, “You know best of all, that I have killed nearly everyone I’ve fallen for without hesitation.”

“That’s right. Two exceptions… because you never got the chance,” Yuuya nodded, then drew his king’s head into his chest, petting his hair softly, “So, that’s nonsense… more of this, universe conspiring to keep Nishikikouji around, is it? Well, perhaps if I go after him now, I’ll seize an opportunity to finish him off?”

“That… seems wise,” Hitori nodded, looking up to quickly kiss Yuuya before he stood and chased after, leaving his king with the rest of the court while he took off to try and catch up to the interior enemy.

“Answer me! Answer me, Nishikikouji!” A voice was sharp and angry as he turned into the hallway, clearing belong to Yoshiko. She sounded furious, “Tell me where you got that gun!”

“I will not,” The way he said it sounded like this was definitely not the first time in the last five minutes, as he continued turning his nose up and striding quickly down the hall.

“Tell me!” She shouted even louder, the ribbons in her hair starting to come undone seemingly of their own accord.

“Why do you even want to know?” He questioned snidely, leaning down far too close to her face to tie the pigtails again. She snapped her teeth at his nose, “Oh, you really are being so feisty today. Attractive as that is, must I have the doctor cut out your tongue again? Or perhaps pull a few teeth this time?”

“Do whatever you want, just answer me…” She muttered, “I’ve seen that gun before. I know it… I have. Somewhere. Sometime. And I know that… you’ve held it before, but it never belonged to you! Never! A gun like that could only belong to a noble knight who will do anything to protect the people that he loves! It could only belong to… a member of the Reprobus house!” The pigtails came undone again just as soon as they’d been tied, and the dress (a much less crystalline one than before, more comfortable) didn’t seem to be quite right, as if it was attempting to change into a different article of clothing altogether.

“You’re speaking nonsense again!” Tohri hissed as he whirled around, knocking her to the ground with a fierce backhand, then standing over her chest, “If you must know, I found this gun on my person as soon as we boarded the train to this forsaken place. Hence, it is mine. And there is no such thing as a… Reprobus.”

Yuuya tried to move, tried to intervene, but found himself incapable of any movement at all.

“You…” She hesitated, then frowned and shook her head where she lay, “No… you are right after all. I was being… foolish…” She laughed, just once, then slowly stood up and grabbed onto his arm, “Just like always… you’re… right.”

They walked away slowly, but the minute Yuuya could move again he found himself slamming into a closed door; it was definitely the room the two of them shared, he could tell that much. It was as if they’d turned time into some sort of rubber band, to have that moment which nobody should have seen. Such a strange scene, with Nishikikouji being… agreed with. It just didn’t sit right, but what could Yuuya do about it? He groaned as he leaned back against the door, turning the gun over in his hands for a few moments before becoming painfully aware of something.

This was… his gun.  
No, not from when he was on the police force.

From when he was…

An agent.


	5. Chapter 5

“Oh, Hiyoko! You’re back!” Ryouta smiled as he greeted her at the door, kissing her cheek, “How was work today? Catch any criminals?”

“You know I didn’t,” She groaned, pushing her hair back… maybe she should start tying it back. She’d always kept it too short for a decent ponytail, but pigtails might suit her… oddly, despite having never worn them before, she felt as if she once had. Or more than once. Regularly… except she knew she hadn’t. In any case, loose hair was awfully inconvenient when she was getting all sweaty in training, “Except for when those things come in on the train, there’s never any criminals here-”

“You so sure about that, sweetie?” Another voice called from further in the house and Hiyoko froze.

“Ryouta, did you let somebody in the house?”

“Yes, I did. Calm down. She’s a visitor, so I poured her some tea. She said she wanted to talk to you when you got back, but I don’t recognize her at all…” Ryouta frowned, resting his chin on his hand and glancing towards the dining room, “I think you should go talk to her… she’s a little scary, but she’s been perfectly polite!”

“You’re Hiyoko Tosaka,” The girl said as Hiyoko walked into the room, sitting down across from her. She pushed her red glasses up her nose, hiding gray eyes behind them, “Royal Guard for The King formerly known as Kazuaki Nanaki. In life, you were married to Ryouta Kawara, individual of unclear gender… You followed your late father’s footsteps into a career of professional wrestling, and in death you’ve instructed yourself in the use of a variety of weaponry, both to use it and to know how to defend against it, an intelligent decision given that the kingdom you serve is practically at war… and, your planisphere has a mysterious crack in its face, that seems to have no plausible origin.”

“How do you…” Hiyoko muttered, too stunned to say much more.

“I know a lot of things about a lot of people,” She shrugged, standing up. Her clothing certainly didn’t look like something the living would wear, but it resembled neither of the courts either. She chuckled a bit under her breath, squinting at Hiyoko, “You’re wondering about my origin, aren’t you? Well, I’ll tell you this much. My name is Ayano Ueda. Either of the kings of this place would consider me an enemy… because I’m the type of person who ruins a lot of things.”

“And… why did you want to talk to me?” Hiyoko questioned, crossing her arms.

“You know how to get to The Dark Palace, don’t you? I need you to help me go there,” She shrugged, crossing her arms, “I have business.”

“Business? With those things? With The Monster…?” Hiyoko tilted her head, obviously confused, “But, they aren’t really the sort to listen to reason, are they?”

“Well, if they are, I don’t care. My intention isn’t to reason with them…”

“Are you going to try to kill them? I don’t think you can. Sakuya is the only one who can even get past the guard, and he hasn’t succeeded once. I’ve seen him in action, he’s a very competent enigma… those things are just more competent. Violence is their only goal, so…”

“I don’t want to kill it,” She giggled, “It’s funny, now that I think about it. I should want to destroy that monster in revenge, because it’s what killed me… But I don’t. Actually, I’d prefer to just talk to him. Remind him that I was his first girlfriend, manipulate him into hating himself, that sort of thing. All in a day’s work…” She picked at her nails idly, “By the way, Kawara makes tea very well. Good catch.”

“His first… girlfriend?” Hiyoko was now thoroughly confused as she finally let the tension in her shoulders out somewhat, sitting down across from Ayano, but still ready to react if she needed to.

“That’s right. You can’t make something out of nothing. Every monster here was a living being once. Was a human once…” She shrugged, “It’s funny, actually. He was always a very sweet, very nice man. Smart and handsome, and I really don’t even know why he bothered with somebody as rotten as me. It was nice, dating him. I could be as mean as I wanted and he wouldn’t even care… Ah, Uzune. But, I got a little too close to his little siblings, and that’s what got him to show me his true colors. I was the first person he ever killed~ I’d consider that an accomplishment. I could be a talent agent for criminals!” She giggled, then spread her arms above her head in some sort of sales-pitch type movement, “Ayano Ueda, the girl who launched the deadly career of a serial murderer! She can do the same for you!”

“What the Hell are you saying?” Hiyoko squished her face up in a grimace.

“Well, I bet if he’d never met me, he never would have killed anyone! But I screwed up and he slaughtered me on a motherly impulse… then I guess he realized how fun it was? And well, of course, lost any semblance of morality. He moved on from me and dated somebody else, who he liked much more… maybe I should have bleached my hair and he would have liked me more? I think he tried not to, but he eventually killed his next lover, and I never saw a bit of regret in his face or actions. Maybe breaking his moral compass was a defense mechanism,” She shrugged, “He’s the sort of person who could get really messed up over doing something wrong, so he probably just threw any idea of right and wrong out the window to avoid breaking down completely after he heartlessly murdered me.”

“And so. He became a monster,” Hiyoko nodded slowly, “That makes sense.”

“Doesn’t it just? But anyway, I want to see him again so that I can make him mine… I couldn’t ask your king for help with this because,” She paused a moment, and Hiyoko could tell she was lying, though she couldn’t think of what the truth could be so she had to let it slide, “I bet he wouldn’t support the idea of anyone fraternizing with The Monster.”

“What do you mean by… Make him yours? I’m sure if it can feel anything at all anymore it’d prefer one of its other exes. No offense to you, but you did say he liked his next lover more than you…”

“Oh, right. Well you see, he has a peculiar ability. He can erase people from existence at will! Or, most people. Some seem to be immune… In any case, if I can get him to hate himself, he may try to erase himself, and then he’ll just be a sort of shell of himself. A broken… Thing. That will just look like him, and not really be able to do much of anything. Like, a body pillow!”

“That sounds kind of… Really gross,” Hiyoko frowned, wrinkling her nose, “And… I’m assuming Shirogane is one of those people who are immune to being erased?”

“Him? No, not at all,” Ayano giggled, shrugging, “If Uzune wanted to erase him, he would have done it a long time ago! It’s not like there’s a limit on how often he can do it or when, or anything! See, I told you. He really is a big goddamn softie, even if he did kill everyone he ever dated… Well, two exclusions. One disappeared before he got his shot, and the other just happened to outlive him.”

“How do you know all this about him anyway?” Hiyoko tilted her head.

“I’ve been watching him. I watched his whole life, and his afterlife thus far. It was my deathstyle choice, after all,” She chuckled a little bit, sipping the tea Ryouta had given her, “Anyway, if I get my way, you won’t be in any danger from this war. After all, nobody else over there has the power to completely destroy you if they choose.”

“Too bad, I’m not going to send you over there.”

“Whaaaat?” Ayano whined, shocked and disappointed, “Why not?? This would be a mutually beneficial agreement!”

“Well, you already told me one lie. And… If he really has been sparing Shirogane all this time, then he must have a heart, or at least something like it. Plus, it doesn’t sit right to surrender somebody up to you. You already admitted to abusing him when you were both alive, and you want to make him even more of an inhuman creature than he is now. Hell, I don’t wish that on my worst enemy. Don’t wish that on anybody,” Hiyoko smirked, shaking her head, “I think you’ve forgotten. A knight always keeps her integrity! I won’t guide you, and nobody else here will either. How about you just leave?”

“Hm… Well, I don’t know what I expected. You’re right. Goodbye, Tosaka. I’m sure there’s some universe out there where I succeeded, anyway,” She shrugged, looking up at the ceiling, then stood up and left, waving as she walked out the door.

“That was really good, Hiyoko,” Ryouta smiled as he put his hands on her shoulders gently, “Thank you…”

“What are you thanking me for?”

“For doing the right thing,” He shrugged, sliding his hands down from her shoulders to wrap her in a soft embrace, “I don’t know what’s going on over there. I’m trying not to be too involved in all of this at all… But I do know one thing. We have to be the bigger people here. Take the high road, all those cliches. We’re the good guys, but… Well, I don’t want that to change, Hiyoko. It’s easier to become a villain than to stay a hero, after all… So thank you, for refusing to help her. She sounded really… Nasty.”

“Didn’t she? I’ll take all the help we can get of course, but not like this. I’m… I’m not going to keep fighting like this, if it turns out we were wrong all along. He spared Shirogane, Ryouta. So many times, despite all the assassination attempts. That has to count for something. Those things… No, I can’t call them things anymore. Those people. I can’t believe, anymore, that they’re completely bad.”

-

“Nageki!” A familiar voice called out to him, and he glanced over in the direction to see not only Kanta, but Momo as well approaching the train station. Despite Kanta having been the one who called out to him, Momo was in the lead, and she put on another burst of speed to close the distance between herself and her friend, capturing him in a moving hug and almost knocking him over. 

“...Hey,” He greeted the both of them, regaining his balance as Momo let go of him and looked up at him, “What’s going on?”

“Momo was telling me about something and I thought that you’d want to hear!” Kanta explained, leaning forward on his crutches as he caught up with the others, “Something really weird!”

“Something weird?” Nageki questioned, tilting his head to the side and crossing his arms, “Well, you know I’m always curious about what could possibly be going on here.”

“Exactly! And this is particularly relevant to you, Nageki!” Momo said, panting as she caught her breath from all that running, “See, I was curious, a few weeks ago, so I decided to take a peek through the portal. I got killed just about immediately, but what’s really important is who killed me…” She paused, both for dramatic effect and to compose herself, realizing that the enthusiasm that came with her adrenaline wasn’t exactly suited to the situation, “It was Kokoro. I saw Kokoro. I know I did. It couldn’t have been anybody else.”

“You saw… Kokoro…? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Nageki demanded, then sighed and shook his head, “Sorry, sorry. Just, please tell me about it.”

“I didn’t know if you would want to hear! I’m only telling you now because Kanta told me you mentioned to him that you were curious about the people over there! I thought it might just upset you,” She sighed, pouting, “Kokoro, she… hesitated. I’d never heard of the guard over there hesitating before! Hiyoko said that when she tried to go there, she didn’t even have the time to see the guard, and the only way Shirogane gets past her is by teleporting immediately. She recognized me, that has to be it! It didn’t stop her altogether, because I mean… it’s her job. But she recognized me and it was definitely Kokoro…”

“If Kokoro is over there…” Nageki muttered, “There’s three people there, I think, who I never saw. If she’s one of them…” He shook his head, pulling out his phone. He’d been distracted before, but he wouldn’t be now. It only took a few minutes of scrolling, “Hoppe. Hoppe’s over there too. It’s… we’re all here, or there. All of us, everyone from Heartful House except-”

“Except Hitori Uzune, and Pyonpyon, right?” Someone else spoke up, “And you know where Pyonpyon is. Working for the administration, because this place didn’t exist when he died,” Momo turned around just in time to see the newcomer crouch down and run a finger down her own cheek with a deep frown, “So sad.”

“Ueda!” Nageki hissed, pushing past Momo and drawing his dagger, immediately holding it against her chest, already pushing through her clothing and drawing blood with the tip of it. In this case, he knew that she was not some creature, but he didn’t care, “What are you doing here!? It’s your fault Pyonpyon died! It’s your fault Hitori left us!” Usually so calm, Nageki’s voice was harsh and choked up, and he was nearly crying in these few seconds it had begun.

“Hey, if you stab me now, then you won’t get to hear my valuable input,” She sighed, rolling her eyes, “Really. Attacking me must run in the family! Of course, when your brother killed me it meant a whole lot more than if you kill me now. Already dead, y’know?” She shrugged, then giggled a bit, “You reaaaaally hate me, don’t you?”

“Of course I hate you. We all do. We lost two important members of our family, because of you,” Nageki sneered, and Momo and Kanta nodded in the background, but he did let up on the knife, “So if you’re going to say anything, better make it fast…”

“All I have to say is… you already know the truth. I saw it, anyway. You’ve been wondering for a while now, trying to get people who’ve seen him to tell you if you’re right, but here I am! A real true angel, come to tell you that your suspicions are correct. The Monster… is that very same Hitori Uzune. But! Shirogane wouldn’t tell you because he’s such a tightass, and of course that king of yours would want to keep it a secret. After all…”

“Yeah, I know. He was one of Hitori’s victims…” Nageki frowned. He had always kept up with current events, but it was quite a shock when, two years after Hitori had disappeared from Heartful House without a trace, he appeared as a wanted criminal in the death of Kazuaki Nanaki. Even more surprising when a few more killings along the same vein proved that it really was him, most surprising was when Nageki’s afterlife brought him face to face with that victim.

“So he wouldn’t want you to know! Besides. To him, there is no Kazuaki Nanaki or Hitori Uzune. Just a king and a monster…” She stepped backwards, away from the knife, then twirled in a quick circle before striking some weird pose for… some reason, “So, voila! Now you know. But don’t count on the teary reunion, Fujishiro. Even if you could be determined enough to actually see him once you got over there, I wouldn’t say it’s a good idea. And this is me being uncharacteristically nice! If he saw you again, well. He might start feeling bad about the things that he’s done…”

“And why should I listen to you?” Nageki questioned, practically snarling.

“Yeah!” Momo agreed, crossing her arms and standing behind, and slightly beside Nageki to show her agreement, “Knowing you, I bet Hitori really misses us and would love to see us again! Because you’re awful. And a liar.”

“Fine, don’t believe me, but don’t blame me either if it backfires on you,” She shrugged, then the train pulled up. She hadn’t gotten there on the train, somehow, or Nageki would have stopped her, but she was using it to leave. She sidestepped onto it gracefully, waving goodbye to her enemies with a cheerful smile on her face.

Nageki didn’t stop for anything, taking off immediately towards the portal and leaving his siblings in the dust. It had been a long time since he’d died, a long time since he’d seen Hoppe or Kokoro, but at least he’d known them both his entire life. Hitori, on the other hand… it was a great disappointment to Nageki that he’d never seen his overprotective older brother again while he was alive. If he had the opportunity now, even if Hitori was nothing like he remembered him… he had to take it.

He was prepared to make an immediate break for it to avoid being killed by Kokoro, but he never got the chance; however, she didn’t kill him. Rather, he found his hands tied in record time, then was face to face with the only one of his siblings whose height had ever rivaled his own. She froze, meeting his eyes, then stepped backwards, though she didn’t untie him or let go of the ties; which seemed to be a sort of silk, “...Nageki? Is… is that really you?”

“Who else would it be?” He questioned, raising his hands up, “What is this? I thought your policy over here was to kill first and ask questions later.”

“Usually, yes. However… Doctor Iwamine wanted to dissect a member of the light court, so I said I would capture one for him. But, if it’s you…” She hesitated, “If… it really is you… what are you doing on the enemy’s side?”

“It isn’t like I had a choice,” Nageki frowned, “We just ended up where we ended up… honestly, I don’t care right now. He can dissect me, I just. I heard that Hitori was over here. Is he? Is Hitori really here?”

“Yeah… he is…” She nodded slowly, then shouted up the dimly lit stairs, “Hey! Hitori, Sakazaki! You decent?”

“Yeah!” Yuuya called back, “Come on up!”

Kokoro turned and nodded to Nageki before leading him up the stairs into that combination throne room/apartment, seeing that Yuuya was busy watching some crime show (CSI, probably. The same episode of it was always on at this time every night, after all.) and Hitori was cooking. Unnecessary, given that the main dining hall was consistently well-equipped, but he enjoyed it, “Hey, Hitori?” Kokoro said quietly, dropping the restraints from Nageki’s hands with a wave of her hand.

“What’s going on, Kokoro?” He asked, setting the pan down and turning around, only for his eyes to grow wide. In his shock he stumbled backwards, setting his hand down on the hot stove but not seeming to even notice or care, “N-Nageki!?”

“...Hi Hitori,” Nageki responded simply, with a smile and a wave, both sheepish. He met his eyes, and… Had an idea. Well, it was an impulse, an impulse that he immediately acted on for some unknown reason. He’d been practicing memory viewing when he could, but… Well. He could only give it a shot, anyway.

Without consent to view the memory of course, it was much more difficult, and yet he felt the need to dig as deep as he could anyway, pushing against the limits of his abilities to pry into Hitori’s mind, trying to find an explanation, a reason why, a better reason for his disappearance than only Ayano; but instead, he found something… Different.

And he disappeared. Disappeared, because he’d burnt himself out, and he was a member of the light court. He’d just be sent home, generally unharmed, but he had no idea if he’d get the chance to come here again and immediately regretted everything.

Kokoro, Hitori, and Yuuya stared in shock at the place where Nageki had once stood, but Hitori was the first to speak, shaking his hand off to try and cool the burn he’d given himself and trying to play it off like he wasn’t shaken, “Ah… We were hallucinating. Of course Nageki would never be here… Of course not. None of the others will. Everyone who’s going to come here… Already has…”

“My king,” Yuuya frowned, stepping forward, “Are you feeling all right? Perhaps we should postpone the gala until another time?” He questioned, putting a hand on Hitori’s shoulder.

“No, no…” He shook his head, “It’s important, and… I’m okay, really. Hallucinations are nothing new to me, drugs or no drugs.”

“...Okay.”


	6. Chapter 6

When Yuuya had discovered, that the gun was his, it was an incredibly surreal experience. He had an entirely new slew of memories to deal with, overlapping with the ones he already had; no, not quite. He could, if he concentrated, separate them into a chronological order placing a large chunk of memories of holiday star… Directly before the memories of his life, and other memories of life before that, though the life memories and holiday star ones tried their hardest to overlap with the more current ones… And as soon as he had those other memories, something about these ones seemed rather lacking in genuinity. Not to say he hadn’t done these things or lived this life, but rather, it felt as if there was something wrong with himself.

Looking back on those memories, he certainly seemed to care what people thought. He cared about the things he did, and the consequences. Felt bad about hurting people… But he hardly ever did, anymore. He was a changed man and the memories full of guilt were only that. Memories. His current memories couldn’t be denied either, after all. The only true insight he could gain from this was that somebody had given him a false life… perhaps it was Hitori? He was quite a good king, to his own court. He wouldn’t put it past him, to do something like this… but something told him that wasn’t it. One person could only have so much power.

The biggest thing that he gained, however, was clearer memories of how one person’s face looked. Somebody who, in his more recent memories, he had only ever known while strung out on all sorts of drugs that left his memory of their appearance totally fried. He’d known somebody once, who insisted on being called Anghel Higure, but he hadn’t known his real name. Until now, until that face came into much better clarity, and he wished he could just blow down that door to the room where Anghel was being kept… and every scrap of hatred he felt for Tohri Nishikikouji had only been intensified.

Anghel may have only been an accessory to Yuuya and Hitori’s relationship while they were too drugged up to remember his face in these most recent memories, but he’d once meant much, much more to Yuuya, at least. Knowing with these extra memories the connection betwen Anghel Higure and Yoshiko Akagi, and the matter that their faces were the very same… that princess was none at all, and Yuuya absolutely needed to get him out of that situation as soon as possible. He took off, returning to the throneroom apartment where Hitori had already gone to rest after the meeting, and for the first time in a technical long time, woke him up.

“...Eh? Yuu...ya…?” Hitori muttered, sitting up slowly and rubbing his eyes, “Why’d you wake me up…? Is something wrong? What happened after you chased Nishikikouji…”

“I wasn’t able to hurt him, but I did find something out, and I really need your help now,” Yuuya explained quickly, sitting down on the bed next to Hitori and grabbing his shoulder. This almost felt wrong, now that he knew his loyalties to Anghel and Hitori’s similar loyalties to… somebody who strangely, remained faceless even in his recovered memories; emphasis on almost. He still couldn’t say he really cared. He still had feelings and he would continue acting on them unless directly told not to by the object of his affections.

“Oh? Well, I’m always willing you help you, dear…” Hitori nodded, yawning, “What is it…?”

“I need you to help me come up with a plan to help the princess, because he’s not a princess at all. Yoshiko Akagi… is the very same person as Anghel Higure, Hitori. It’s even worse than you thought, and he’s suffering. It’s awful, we seriously need to help him. Nishikikouji isn’t just hurting him, he’s… keeping him from being himself. I know you’ve tried all sorts of things before, but… if he remembers, well, he might run away with me and we could hide him, if we can’t manage to get rid of Nishikikouji. I just need a situation where I can be alone with him long enough to talk to him…” Yuuya was practically hyperventilating as he explained this.

“...That’s… Anghel…?” Hitori questioned, tilting his head and frowning, “Holy shit. He must hate us now,” He shook his head, suddenly alert and standing up to pace back and forth, “All that time, he was stuck with Nishikikouji… and he could never even say just how bad it was, I bet! He couldn’t tell me, or you, because he’d be punished and I never even picked up on just how horrible… I knew Nishikikouji was bad, but I always sort of thought that if one of his models had come here with him she must have been in some level of agreeance with him, but… Anghel, he didn’t even…”

“I remember. That night we met him, when he’d run away from work, he said that… he’d rather be back on the street snatching change of the bodies of drunkards than working his current job, but I never thought…” Yuuya shook his head, both him and his royal boyfriend now obviously very distressed, “I can’t believe I let something like that happen! I can’t believe I’m still letting it happen! Hitori, we can’t just look for opportunities anymore, we really need to take action!”

“Okay, okay,” Hitori muttered, chopping the air with his hands while his brow furrowed. The only plan he’d made as king had much more time at hand than this one, but he was sure he could come up with something, “We met him… in a nightclub, right? Well, you did. I’m pretty sure I was back in the hotel room doing lines or some shit.”

“Sounds about right. He came back to the hotel room and asked us if we had any sports bras… he introduced himself as Anghel, and you told him your name, and you immediately hit it off over being fucking murderers. Because you know, that’s normal,” Yuuya shrugged, “It’s all coming back to me now that I’m bothering to think about it… he called you old man and you reminded him that you were only eight years older.”

“In any case, before you brought him back to our hotel room, you danced with him at that club, right? That gives me an idea, except… I’m not sure if I even approve of it myself. Do I want to let Nishikikouji near Kokoro and Hoppe…?” He frowned deeply, holding a fist against his chin, “God, no, but… if they would agree to it, at least, and if it’s to help Anghel… it isn’t like he could do much in such little time as it would be…”

“What’s your idea?” Yuuya asked, halting Hitori in his pacing by reaching out and grabbing his forearms, just past the elbow.

“We could host a gala. We do have a ballroom, it would be nice to finally put that to use… Kokoro would enjoy it, at least. She loves dancing…” He nodded slowly, “This just might work. I’ll set it up so that everyone has to dance with everybody else at least once. It’ll be… disgusting, to be that close to Nishikikouji, but I don’t think anybody will mind if it’s for the greater good. This will allow you to get close to Anghel without raising suspicions. It’ll just be another dance among many of the night…”

\---------  
“Again, I need to make sure,” Yuuya whispered in the ear of his king, “It’s important that we get Anghel out of there as soon as possible, yes, but you really don’t seem well today… even before Nageki got here. Are you certain this is a good idea?” Yuuya questioned, concern apparent in his voice as he adjusted Hitori’s cloak, only to find dark feathers falling off of it at the slightest movement.

“I don’t feel well at all, if I am to be completely honest, but Higure’s safety is much more important than my well-being… I’ll be just fine, Yuuya,” He forced a smile, but Yuuya just frowned more and squeezed his hand, knowing so much more about… another Hitori, in addition to this one. They were the same, but different… and he’d already seen one Hitori fall into disrepair. He didn’t want to see the current one in pain too.

“No… Hitori, what’s going on? Tell me. I’m sure that you know…” Yuuya hissed in his ear resolutely, determined not to let his king meet with some terrible fate.

“Heh…” He chuckled slightly, then gripped his chest and grimaced, “You really could always see through me… it’s, something. I’m not sure how to fix it, though. That anthology of stories, about our lives, you see… it seems that my stories have been torn out of it, and since then, I’m… ailing. I’m sure I’ll get used to it.”

“Torn out…?” Yuuya mumbled, wide-eyed, then suddenly harsh again, “Nishikikouji… he didn’t give up on that mutiny at all…!”

“Ah, I’d say not to jump to conclusions, but I’d have to say that you’re probably correct,” Hitori shrugged with an airy sigh, “Maybe it will kill me… ah, that would be a shame. Somebody else would have to saddle my burden, then. I don’t want that… nobody else deserves it,” He hesitated, then flashed a bright smile, “But, that’s a problem for another time! For tonight, why don’t we just go ahead and enjoy ourselves?”

“Deserves it…? Hitori, are you starting to care again…? That’s not good for you,” Yuuya sighed, shaking his head, “And… what burden? Does this have anything to do with what you’re planning to do when we invade the star?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Just a plan I’ve had for a while now… and, well, since you told me about Anghel, I’ve been having strange thoughts. Dreams, actually… when I did all sorts of other, different awful things, that I actually felt bad for. But, this has nothing to do with guilt, really, it doesn’t. It has to do with what I want… and what I want just happens to be a burden on myself. Let’s go, then,” He nodded, and took Yuuya by the arm, stepping into the ballroom. The music was playing, but out of prestige they were the first ones there.

It was another twenty minutes, anyhow, before anybody else arrived, but once they did the dance really did get into full swing. It was almost refreshing, in keeping so much of their collective modernity, to take a break and do something actually suited to their location. Waltzing was much easier to bullshit than modern dancing, anyhow, so it altogether looked rather nice; especially later, when Hitori started pairing everyone up for those dances designed to get Anghel and Yuuya alone together long enough to discuss their past, and a plan for the future.

Despite many uncomfortable dances by people paired with Nishikikouji, it did work out, and Yuuya soon found himself face to face with the supposed princess, though his first words when they touched hands proved he knew better, “Anghel…”

“Wh…” He looked stunned for a moment, but then smiled, “Ah, Cain Reprobus! You remembered me at long last! I do not hold it against you, for such monkey’s hands certainly clouded your memory of the time we spent together…”

“Anghel, listen to me. I haven’t even told Hitori yet, but I know that you’ll believe me. I remember… more than what’s happened. You and I… we’ve always been drawn to each other, really. Once, we ran away together… I started using your last name, actually,” He chuckled sheepishly, “And, ah, I can’t say I would readily surrender my current relationship, but I suppose you should know there was a time when you were the very brightest thing in my life… mon amour.”

“You forgot that…?” He questioned, tilting his head, “Why, the very moment the train brought me to this secret ring of Hell I had full recollection of our prior selves! And, of The Messenger’s… I know not how it came to be that I would be so fully trapped in his horrendous clutches, but I swear I have endured it in the name of all we have been through! The red lotus strings of fate tie us together even now, and no actions on his wretched part may change that! It is only of my greatest relief that you remembered before the messenger took it upon himself to destroy you! Ah, but,” He chuckled a bit, holding up a finger, “He does not remember. No, if he did then everything would surely be much worse…”

“I can’t even begin to imagine the sort of shit he put you through,” Yuuya sighed heavily, shaking his head as they moved, “But, your room has a hedge just outside the window. Tomorrow night, I’ll come and take you away in secret. Hitori and I will hide you somewhere that he won’t be able to hurt you anymore.”

“You and That King… have always been here for me. It is fate which ties us, bonds which cannot easily be broken. No matter how our feelings and connections may change, we will most certainly always find solace in each other! For it was us three, who composed our court before, and it is us three who became close even in a life which seemed designed for my own suffering… ah, but that will soon be behind us, and I will one day heal these many wounds, old and new! I have done it before and I will do it once more!” He nodded enthusiastically, “If nothing else, it is clear that this incarnation of the crimson angel of judecca is far more determined than the last! Why, just a few days ago I shattered a transparently blockaded portal to the outside world and made to attack my captor! I brought upon him a great grievance to the stomach, but in the end was thwarted and thoroughly flogged… but! I would not stop trying such things, until now, when the truest knights of history have come to my long-awaited aid!”

“I wouldn’t say that Hitori and I are the truest knights of history. I mean, we spend a lot of time sleeping…” He trailed off, but was smiling, “It’s good to hear that you haven’t given up. And soon enough, you won’t need to suffer anymore. I swear it on my honor as a Reprobus."


	7. Chapter 7

“Kazuaki!” Nageki shouted as he stumbled into the throne room, running with much more fervor than he really ought to. A glare made him correct himself, “I mean, my king! I found out something very important and I believe you should hold a meeting immediately. I will not take no for an answer.”

“The King wonders what has got Nageki so franctic! He has always been so calm. The King thinks it would be a bad idea not to listen, and will call a meeting!” Kazuaki nodded, staring at Nageki, wide-eyed.

“Rude! I was about to give my monthly reconnaissance report,” Sakuya frowned, crossing his arms in annoyance, “I have important information too, you know…”

“Then you can tell everybody, at the meeting,” Nageki muttered, rolling his eyes, “It would be better if we all knew, after all. It’s best we share any and all information we come across.”

“Hmph. Very well… but not for your sake. I agree that Tosaka should know everything we learn about the others, seeing as she would most likely serve the greatest role in defending should they go through with their plan to invade…” Sakuya shrugged, “And, it would be sensible if she was to know this, to know that perhaps she should hold back from causing as much harm as she can…”

“The King does not understand what Sakuya is saying, but The King agrees that he should give his report at the meeting, which The King is calling right now,” The King nodded, then stood up from his throne and went into the meeting room, alongside his advisor of course. Ryuuji hardly trusted The King to handle himself, and thus made efforts to keep an eye on him at all times. Nageki and Sakuya followed, and the rest of the light court arrived at staggered times until the meeting room was completely full.

“Okay,” Nageki nodded slowly once everybody has arrived, “It… recently came to my attention, that I knew some members of the dark court, when they were alive. With that knowledge, I couldn’t help but attempt to go over there, even if I was just going to get killed by the guard right away… but I guess I had good timing, because she just captured me before recognizing I was somebody she knew when she was still living. I was… permitted, to meet with their king. As you would probably call him… The Monster.”

“The King says this is horrible. The King does not want Nageki meeting The Monster. The Monster will just trick Nageki. It is a very, very bad creature. It will hurt Nageki. It will hurt everyone. It always has and it always will.”

“Well, too bad, I already met him, and I’d rather if you didn’t call him that anymore. He has a name. I don’t care how you feel about Hitori, but at least you could use his name,” Nageki grumbled, crossing his arms, “But I guess that doesn’t matter. I looked in his memories, though. I didn’t find out any details about his plan or anything, but I did find something strange. It seemed as if… his memories have been altered. There was something wrong. Like he had more memories further back, but they were behind a locked door… but it was like they were leaking through, somewhat, in the form of a desire. This desire was being shaped into a plan, but I couldn’t actually determine what that plan was…”

“The King wonders why this is relevant. And The King will not use that name. That name belongs to somebody who The King cares about. The Monster is not the same as Hitori. The King is only afraid of The Monster and hates it.”

“The reason it’s relevant is because it raises scrutiny to everything that we think we know to be true,” Nageki deadpanned, as if this existential statement was completely obvious, “If his memories have been changed, there’s nothing to say that ours haven’t also been. For all we know, it could all be a lie. Maybe Hitori never killed anybody, maybe he just died when he disappeared and we’ve all been led to believe a falsehood…”

“The King does not think _that_ could be true. However, The King will entertain the idea that memories have been changed. It is an order! The Light Court should try as hard as they can to remember weird memories!” The King nodded as he said this, then turned to Sakuya, “It seems to The King that Nageki is finished! So it is Sakuya’s turn!”

“Thank you,” Sakuya huffed slightly, turning to address everybody, “I have determined that the dark court is in fact, a sort of human. They do not have Planispheres but they are most CERTAINLY not the single-minded killing machines we originally thought them to be.”

“I agree,” Momo piped up first, Kanta and Nageki nodding alongside her as she explained, “My sisters are over there, and my older brother… It’s impossible that they would be like that. I’ll admit that they could do bad things, but…”

“In addition, one of them often posts on twitter about all sorts of social happenings amongst the court, jokes, expressions of friendship,” Nageki stated, pulling out his phone, “It’s clear that they have emotions.”

“In keeping with that idea, I should state that I have witnessed some of them engaging in… intimate acts. In addition, one time I was sent home in peace after an assassination attempt…” Sakuya explained, stroking his chin.

“Plus!” Hiyoko piped up, “I heard that their king is able to erase people from existence at will, and he hasn’t done that to Sakuya! He must be merciful!”

“The King says, enough!!” Kazuaki shouted suddenly, shaking his head and covering his face, “The King’s friends are turning on him!! This is horrible! Awful! Can The King never be happy!? The King’s friends are traitors who are defending The Monster!”

“Ah, it’s not like that!” Hiyoko protested, holding a hand out and frowning, “I just… Don’t want to fight them, if they’re people. It’s not that I’m on their side or anything, I just can’t really see them as mortal enemies now! You have to understand, Your Highness!”

“Oh. The King understands, yes. The King understands that his friends are all betraying him just like Hitori did. His friends are Hitori’s friends! His friends are just like Hitori! The King-” He froze in place, shrinking down and starting to sob, shaking his head and hiding his face in his hands, “The King… Remembers that Hitori…” He was trembling completely now, his words choked, “The King misses Hitori…”

“...Kazuaki?” Nageki questioned, placing a hand on his shoulder in concern.

“The King remembers… Like Nageki said. The King remembers. The King feels very very bad. The King does not hate Hitori. Hitori is bad. Hitori is bad now. Hitori is The Monster. But Hitori was not… But Hitori does not remember and Hitori does not care about The King. Sakuya said he saw things. The King bets it is Hitori and somebody because Hitori does not remember Hitori does not realize that he has not loved anybody more Hitori does not remember that Hitori and The King were very special together…” He was spouting off every single thought that came to mind quickly, hiccupping as well, like a 3 year old trying to explain the very long story of how they fell and scraped their knee.

“Wait, you mean… You remember something else? Something different from what’s going on right now?” Nageki questioned, leaning forward on the table.

“The King says… Holiday Star was different once. We were all together, and happy, but then a bad man came to put Hitori on trial, and a bad woman came to try and steal him from The King, and he broke. Hitori broke and went to hide all alone in the dungeon and The King went to hide all alone in a tower. Nageki tried to fix it but another bad person ruined it. That was it. That Holiday Star ended. The King thinks this war is that person’s fault. The King thinks this world is that person’s fault. The King thinks… If Hitori remembers, Hitori will fix everything. Or Hitori will break again. The King is not sure which.”

“And if he doesn’t remember?” Hiyoko questioned from across the table, worried. Ryouta grabbed onto her hand and squeezed it.

“The King doesn’t know.”

\-----

The next evening, early on, Yuuya and Hitori were already setting a plan in motion. Hitori exerted a bit of power to create a new room in the palace which Tohri would not know of, in which to hide Anghel once he was rescued from his room. Anghel had informed Yuuya (in no easily comprehended terms) that Tohri was rarely in the room at this hour, electing instead to go off and do who knows what. A pebble thrown at the window got Anghel’s attention, and when the window was opened by him it showed Yuuya (who had made Hitori stay behind somewhat, so that he might not incite even more of Tohri’s wrath upon himself if discovered as an accomplice) that this day was not an exception to that info.

Keeping quiet, however, was still a matter of importance and safety; the window didn’t open, so Anghel punched it. He’d already torn the sleeves off of his outfit, given that it would really be a hindrance to have his hands enclosed in fabric while making an escape effort. Luckily, the window shattered easily outward, and he only even got a few pieces stuck in his hand and wrist! Success, basically. He cleared out as much of the window as he could (he’d use a tool if he had any, but the room’s furniture was bolted down and Tohri made sure not to leave anything around, not counting on Anghel going so far as to break a window with his hand) then jumped out, landing in the hedge beneath then immediately standing up and grabbing onto Yuuya’s arm tightly, letting some scraps of fabric from his outfit get snared in the bushes. It wasn’t evidence that they needed to avoid, it was only getting caught in the act.

Once Anghel had been retrieved, he and Yuuya went to meet back up with Hitori, who was waiting for them at the edge of the gardens, feet hanging off the edge over the void, looking out on the starless sky that greeted them here. It was as if the entire universe had separated itself from them…

“Hitori, don’t sit there when you aren’t feeling well, you could fall off,” Yuuya cautioned him as he approached, and Hitori stood up, turning around, “I’ve got him. Time to go?”

“Right,” Hitori nodded, but then froze where he stood for a few seconds before suddenly turning around, wrapping his cloak around his two comrades. They couldn’t see or hear through it until it had burnt up; yes, burnt up. Something nearby had just exploded, and was still in the process of it. With his cloak gone, Hitori was knocked forward, letting go of the two of them so they didn’t get dragged along with him, although they were also being pushed by the force. Anghel reached out wildly, managing to grab onto Hitori’s wrist. The only bit of him that wasn’t dangling precariously off of the world, and it was only Yuuya’s speedy reflexes that let him grab onto Hitori’s ankle on the way down, now hanging over the void and surprisingly not screaming in terror.

“Well, well, I thought you might try something like this, so I set up bombs at various locations to set off when I caught you!” A snooty voice sounded out, though none of them could see the owner, it was obvious to all who it was, “Admittedly, I did hit the wrong button and set off another one elsewhere, but nonetheless, I’ve got you right where I want you! It’s perfect, too, since my dear princess is in the most easily retrievable position…” Everyone was still stunned into silence as Tohri got close enough for Hitori to see, looking up.

“Ah, Uzune… you’re such a fool,” Tohri chuckled, shaking his head with his hands on his hips, looking down at him, “Did you really think that you could beat me? You might be King here, but tell me…” He grinned, “What’s a King to a God?”

“You’re no God, Nishikikouji…” Hitori sneered.

“Oh, aren’t I? This says otherwise!” He pulled a small notebook out of his vest pocket. Inscribed on the front were the words ‘do not open until you remember writing do not open on this notebook’ which was a rather strange thing to have inscribed, “See, I remembered writing it, and with the aid of its contents, I retrieved quite a number of memories… it’s funny, to think that I didn’t know about this all along! Of course this world would continuously tip the scales in my favor, after all, I created it! You’re nothing but a figurehead Uzune, because I, I am the God of this new world!” He bragged, waving the notebook around in the air, then crouched down.

“I’ve wanted to do this for quite a while, you know… who would have thought I’d get such a perfect opportunity to rid my perfect world of my two worst enemies!” He laughed in a manner that was almost giddy, sticking his leg out and pressing his boot against Hitori’s face, “Reminds me of a movie, you know. What was the line? Oh, right. Long, live, The King,” He taunted, then pressed harder, pushing Hitori out of Anghel’s hand and sending both him and Yuuya toppling into the void.

Anghel turned to face him, and everything seemed to slow down. Only seemed, however. In the course of a few seconds, Anghel’s hair freed itself, and his clothing changed entirely, dress changing now to an ensemble with a sleeveless vest, actual pants, and fingerless gloves; a very emo outfit. In any case, the change happened so quickly that Tohri hardly noticed any of the process, only knowing that it was then most definitely Anghel Higure standing before him, and not some feminine image he’d attempted to create of him.

Then, he was gone. Disappeared, as he teleported down into the void as well, wrapping his arms around the waists of both of his friends before teleporting again; rarely could anyone do it twice in such quick succession, but this was a matter of adrenaline. If he didn’t do this, then he would lose the two most important people to him at this point in time, and his endurance for all this time would have been for naught. He simply could not allow that.

Disoriented, Yuuya and Hitori took a while to stand up from the ground where Anghel placed them upon return, but it seemed that he hadn’t quite exhausted himself yet, reaching into his pocket and pulling out an unfamiliar glass shard. Unfamiliar to Hitori, at least, but Yuuya recognized it by the slight tint of the color. It was a shard of the window from Tohri’s office at Golden Weekly, the first time he had been their enemy.

“Avies Aurum… You are, for the journey of this incarnation of the crimson angel, the penultimate foe. I will stand beside my king in the final decisive battle, but not before I defeat you once and for all. It has been, an eternity, that we have been locked in this struggle. You wish to own me, but fallen angels cannot be tamed, nor can we be broken so easily! You have destroyed me and my spirit time and time again, yet I am still standing,” Anghel shouted as he stepped towards Tohri, who was now walking backwards with fear in his eyes, “For all you have done to me, I still exist. Many a time could I have abandoned all hope, but I’ve persevered, and it has all led up to this very moment…”

“Golden Winged Messenger of Suffering… it is time, now,” Anghel reached out and slashed his chest with the glass shard, “To be rid of you once and for all!” He hissed loudly, lunging forward to attack several more times, scraping up Tohri incredibly badly before dropping the glass to the ground and reaching into his jacket pocket, grabbing something before just shoving him hard, knocking him unceremoniously off the edge and leaning over to watch him disappear into the void. He then turned around and handed some crumpled up papers to Hitori, “Your story from the anthology, my liege. I would return it as soon as possible if I were you.”

“Right,” Hitori nodded slowly, taking the papers, and Yuuya latched onto his arm to lead him back to his room to return the papers to the book, but hesitated after two steps and turned back around slightly, holding his free hand out to Anghel. Anghel smiled softly, stepping forward and taking his hand, walking with the others back to their room.

Once there, Hitori put the papers back in the book, then hesitated, looking a bit closer, “Nishikikouji’s story… it’s gone. It isn’t there anymore,” He frowned, “So, he really is gone? Are we going to forget he existed?”

“Not quite,” Anghel spoke, pulling another book from inside his own vest, holding it out to the others. _The Fated Storybook_ was scrawled across the front of it. He’d read it before, in secret, but had the feeling there may be another one added to it. An addendum, to The Golden Storybook, would be the most fitting.


	8. The Foolish Storybook

Once Upon A Time,

There was a fool.

Yes, a very foolish fool indeed, and he was not the sort to entertain.

Only the sort to make bad decisions.

This fool wished for things he couldn’t have,  
Things he shouldn’t have,  
Things nobody ever should own.

For the fool, he wanted a princess.  
Wanted to own a princess.

Like a doll, all for himself, because he thought she was so beautiful.

He was a fool.

But this fool, he made a wish, a wish on a storybook,  
A wish on a star.

And the fool got what he wanted;  
But he was still a fool.

Because, it is foolish to think,  
that fate can truly be manipulated.

Nobody can ever get exactly what they want.

The Fool only made the world more likely to grant his wish.

And in the end,  
his wish destroyed him.

Poor Fool?

Not at all.  
He was the foolish one,  
And brought this on himself.


	9. Chapter 9

The sky above Holiday Star did not look beautiful tonight.

The train pulled up slowly to the station, and an observer stepped off, eyes clouded. Nageki was not even there to greet her. Nobody was… but of course, he wouldn’t be. Nobody would behave as usual on a night like this. A lunar eclipse… _the_ lunar eclipse. The thing which everybody had been awaiting for so long, the thing which signaled… the end.

It wasn’t only the station which was deserted. The observer was the only person to step off the train tonight, and when she left the station she found the streets empty. Houses dark and quiet, and when she turned around, it seemed that the path behind her had disappeared completely. For possibly the first time in her life, Ayano Ueda was afraid… but who was she, if she was to miss Hitori Uzune’s greatest triumph? Or, his greatest downfall… both would be spectacular to see, and she couldn’t say she saw herself not being present for either event.

Ah, but last time she’d been to Holiday Star, it was a bright and shiny place, more full of life than anywhere full of dead people ought to be. This time, it was silent, empty, shrouded in complete and utter darkness with any path out disappearing behind her with every step. It would intimidate anybody… it wasn’t long before she came across her first stop. It looked like a restaurant. She peered inside, seeing it in utter disarray.

-  
“Yuuya, please!” Ryouta shouted, walking backwards and almost toppling over the counter of his restaurant, diner-style seating that the residents of Holiday Star seemed to appreciate, “Please! I know that you’re in there, I know it! Please try to remember!”

“Oh, Ryouta, what makes you think that I don’t?” He questioned lightly in response, twirling a gun around his finger before pointing it at him, “After all this time, I’d be shocked if any of us didn’t! Ah, but the simple truth of the matter is, loyalty comes before friendship these days!” He shook his head, still grinning, “So, what’s it gonna be? Come peacefully, or deal with the pain of getting shot in the leg…?”

“What sort of a choice is that? Why would I come peacefully if you’re just going to kill me anyway…? There’s no way you remember, if you’re still doing this! Come on, Yuuya! Wouldn’t Sakuya be disappointed to know that you’re doing this…?”

“Ah, yes, Sakuya…” He shrugged slightly, still smiling, “Ah, that man always hated me, but I can’t say the feeling was ever mutual! Don’t you worry, we’ll be off to pick him up soon too! And could I say that with a smile on my face if the plan was to kill my dear brother…? Ah, just trust me this once, won’t you? That always was the problem with you light court folks. All those trust issues…”

-  
Well, whatever had happened there, it couldn’t have been good. There was obviously some sort of struggle in there, but then, that was only to be expected on the night of an invasion, wasn’t it? She continued her aimless wander through the empty ruins of what was, once upon a time, a shimmering city… she had to wonder where all of the residents had gone. Then again… perhaps those residents weren’t real to begin with, or else the dark court simply didn’t care. She entertained the idea that Hitori had erased them all the moment he’d arrived…

But, something told her that was just too good to be true. Even now, Hitori would refuse both consciously and subconsciously to fulfill her wildest fantasies… what a shame. They could have been so happy together, she knew it. But he had to go off with that crybaby blonde, and all those others, and that rotten flirt who turned around and kissed other people whenever Hitori wasn’t looking… she knew that he didn’t care, she knew that he’d given permission, but she wanted to entertain the idea that Yuuya Sakazaki was bad for him despite all evidence pointing to the contrary. Drugs notwithstanding, because that was quite a constant in Hitori’s life.

She knew he hadn’t been high when he’d killed her, but when he killed Kazuaki… well, she was the only one who knew that. The only one who saw the needles filled with the guilt he had for killing her. No, just for killing somebody. It wasn’t that he cared she was dead, after all, she was the one who swapped pyonpyon’s antibiotics with something a little stronger. Just to see what would happen. She didn’t mean to kill him, but of course, she hadn’t accounted that a near fatal dosage for an adult would definitely kill a small child.

It wasn’t her fault! She blamed yahoo answers. But of course, she made the mistake of admitting she hadn’t been trying to kill him, thus implicating herself as the criminal, and meeting with an untimely end at the hands of her boyfriend. She could hurt him as much as she wanted, but the second she killed one little kid it was lights out… and yet, he still felt bad.

Another thing she was the only one who knew about it. Hitori always did such a great job of appearing carefree, and happy, as if he didn’t care, but guilt couldn’t be wiped out so easily. It could only be suppressed and pushed down and squeezed into a tiny bottle, and she knew that it could break at any point. She knew that Hitori could, any day now, finally fall off his streak of not giving a damn that he was a serial murderer. Because it took so long to build to that tolerance. She saw it all happen.

She paused again on the path, turning her head to the side to look over at where Tosaka and Kawara’s house once stood. She could only assume the other members of the light court had lived there too, but there was hardly anything but rubble left now. It didn’t look like anybody had fought there. It only appeared as if the houses had fallen down of their own accord.

-  
“Ryouta…?” Sakuya questioned, approaching him as he walked up the path, “What are you doing here? And what is that mongrel doing with you? I thought the eclipse hadn’t even begun yet, if it had I would certainly be at my post-” 

“Well, seeing as I’m here, clearly it is the date and not the eclipse itself,” Yuuya explained simply, “Glad to see you haven’t changed a bit, brother mine!”

“...Brother?” Sakuya frowned, looking at him with scrutiny, “You mean…”

“We’ve already been through this, Sakuya! We’ve all remembered everything, and so have they. Everyone knows everything now, and you need to come with me and Yuuya,” Ryouta explained, “It’s best if you agree,” He added on, then whispered, “He’s still pretty scary… if I didn’t agree to come peacefully he would have shot me in the leg!”

“Well, I suppose even that is better than having you threaten to shoot him in the head,” Sakuya narrowed his eyes, “I know you were once rather fond of such things, after all.”

“Ah… I never told you about that! How did you know?” Yuuya protested, still smiling, but seeming a little bit disappointed.

“Right before everything went wrong, Hiyoko had her Planisphere stabbed by Uzune and suddenly had all the knowledge that she needed…” Sakuya frowned, rolling his eyes, “Listen. As worthy a cause as your actions may have been for then, it does not excuse your abandoning me. Nothing could. However, I may one day be tempted to forgive you. Though this invasion really isn’t helping your chances.”

“Ahah… I know,” Yuuya’s smile still seemed genuine, however, “Come on then, Sakuya. It really is best if you come with me peacefully! We both know I’m faster than you, and even now I really won’t hesitate to incapacitate you! Sorry, I hope there’s no hard feelings!”

“There are of course hard feelings, but…” He grumbled, “You took me by surprise, and you are correct in that I would not stand a chance against you in a fight. I… will go with you.”

-  
Ayano wondered just where everybody was. Of course they were dead. Of course. Erased, that is. Erased by Hitori, and that was why she could still remember things about them. Of course. That only made sense. It was the only real invasion plan, after all. What else could he even hope to do, but destroy them? She looked around fearfully now, worry growing. Of course he did that. Of course. He couldn’t possibly be trying to…

Ah, but as much as she tried to convince herself of that fact, she knew. She knew that was exactly what he was trying to do. She chuckled under her breath… of course. He had always been too nice for his own good, but she was 80% sure this would all crumble down around him, and that was a satisfying thought. That other percentage, however, still made her uneasy.

Ah, and there was the library.

Burnt to the ground.

-  
“If I’m going to be erased here, I’m going to take you with me,” Nageki hissed with a deathgrip on Anghel’s wrist, “I really hate to do this, Anghel, but you know… last time everything went to shit, we came out on the other side of it, so maybe next time you’ll be a little more agreeable.”

“Caller!” Anghel shouted back, pulling on his wrist but not really trying to extricate it, rather trying to pull Nageki to his feet as well, “Will you not listen to me for a few moments without setting the library ablaze!?”

“I don’t need to hear what you have to say. Not now. Not while you’re part of an invasion… trust me, I hate to do this, I hate to hurt you and I hate to hurt these books too, but you’re not yourself! I don’t want to let you keep going like this, and since you were going to kill me anyw-”

“Caller, get ahold of yourself! Do you really think the Crimson Angel of Judecca would so easily abandon those he holds dear?? No! Through any world and any time, I will leave none behind! You will come with me, out of here, right now. Neither of us need be wiped from this Earth,” He shouted again, then concentrated, grabbing Nageki’s wrist back with his own hand before they were outside within moments, “I would not kill you, Caller!

“...What? But, you went through with the invasion, and-”

“The orders from my king are only to take every member of the light court hostage, and bring them to your palace,” Anghel said in more simple terms than usually, then started walking in that direction, dragging a confused Nageki along with him.

-  
Ayano arrived at the light palace soon enough, stepping forward and gently pushing the door open. It opened straight into the throne room, and when she peered in, she saw a peculiar sight. The Dark Court… was nowhere to be seen at all. Had they really managed to fend off the invasion? But, if they had, why did Holiday Star look this way?

Every member of The Light Court was there, sitting on the floor in a semicircle and looking up at The King. When she looked a bit closer, she saw that while nobody was missing, nobody seemed altogether present either. Their eyes were cold and glassy… she took a few steps into the room, closing the door gently behind herself. She was afraid to say anything, but she had to, after all, “Hello?”

“Ah!” The King greeted her brightly, turning his head and smiling softly. As did every other member of The Light Court, before their king spoke again “Well, if it isn’t Ayano Ueda! You aren’t in this class, but I suppose that you can join us, for just a little while! Please, please, take a seat.”

She hesitated, but then sat down, only to notice something. The King was holding onto his Planisphere, and the way he smiled, the way he spoke, even just the way he’d looked at her… of course she should be able to recognize who it really was.


	10. The False King Tells A Story

Once Upon a Time, there was a collection of people.

There was a beast, a pearl, and a bee…  
A pair of puzzle pieces,  
Two Kings, (one a king, and one a lying monster)  
A fool,  
And a broken mirror.

There was a wanderer, a puppeteer,  
A penguin, a bird, a kiwi, and a pigeon…  
A clock,  
And a book.

These people, they have a story together.

The king was always crying, always relying on the monster,  
Because the monster knew what he was doing.  
The king still had to figure that out;  
The monster had already saved the king’s life once,  
And the king was so happy to have a friend.  
But, not really happy.  
He was never really happy.

One day, when the monster was helping the king,  
They saw the bee, who was always hard at work,   
Was hurt.  
Ah, but the beast was there to help him.  
She always was.  
After the pearl had rescued him.

And, one of those puzzle pieces passed by the monster,  
On his way to help the other puzzle piece conquer science,  
While the monster went shopping to cook for the king.  
The king and the monster were in love, but they didn’t know it yet;  
And even then, the puzzle pieces started to care for each other,  
And even then, the pearl was falling for the bee and the beast.

And the book was never very healthy, but he was doing better.  
And the broken mirror, he was never happy,  
But he was looking after the bee, just like the wanderer had asked him to do.  
And the puppeteer was dead.  
And the birds and clock were too busy to say hello to the monster or the book.  
And the fool was cleaning his hands of his latest misdeed,  
When the beauty faded from the last flower he’d had.

So everyone was happy, or at least, okay.  
Well, or dead.

But that had to change.  
Happiness never lasts.

The bee lost the person he cared about most,  
And found himself instead with an angry wasp,  
Who kept hurting him, and he kept it a secret,  
Because he didn’t want to worry the pearl and the beast.

And the pearl lost his home, all because he loved.

And one puzzle piece was all wrong,  
And surrendered himself to death at the hands of the broken mirror,  
While the other swore protection and broke the mirror more,  
While the other demanded to know what had hurt his lover,  
While the other discovered a collection of twisted ‘art’  
Starring none other than the one he cared for most,  
Stripped down and desperate and hurt (oh so hurt)  
And so he swore revenge on the fool.  
And he got it.

The puzzle pieces left everyone behind,  
Including the pearl.

And the monster hid the bodies.  
And the king became afraid.

The king was right to be afraid,  
Because the puppeteer had once held the monster,  
and made him what he was.  
The monster forgot because he couldn’t survive the memory.

And one night, it seemed, the book had lied.  
The book had said that he was fine, but,  
Then he died.  
Lay down because he was feeling sick, and died there in his bed.

The king knew the book was sick, but said nothing.  
The monster realized this and became angry,  
And made a mistake.  
Oh, several mistakes;  
But the end of it all, was the ones he loved were dead,  
And it was his fault.

After years in prison, the monster killed himself,  
Only to find Holiday Star waiting for him.  
And it was nice.  
Nice for a time.  
And everyone was happy, more or less.

But need I repeat myself?  
Happiness doesn’t last.

The fool found the star, and hurt the puzzle pieces again.  
And they were broken.  
The monster should have stopped it, but, he failed.  
The monster failed at a lot of things…

And one day, the monster remembered.  
The monster remembered all that he’d done,  
And he was a broken man.  
Made of regret.  
Nothing else.

But, the book wanted to save the kings.  
The book made a plan to turn back time,  
To try it all again.

But the fool ruined it all.

And then we were like this.  
Mortal enemies, with memories that only perpetuated that hatred.  
A heartless murder.  
And… everything was worse.  
We didn’t even love the same people.

And I didn’t remember the other world, for a long time,  
But I always knew something needed fixing.  
And you see, what I was after all this time…  
It was never your destruction at all.  
It was your Planispheres.

Please, I hope you can understand.  
But, don’t forgive me.

Ah, you’ll forget all this ever happened soon enough anyway.  
But I do not deserve to be forgiven.  
I never will be.


	11. Chapter 11

“...Hitori? Ah, you’re here awfully early…” Kazuaki mumbled, not even looking up as he heard the footsteps behind him. He was in another room of the castle, but of course Hitori had found him. He hadn’t even brought his advisor along, knowing that if Hitori got here, it was over anyhow, “Did the eclipse happen already?”

“We were able to come over here the minute it started at all, it seems,” Hitori spoke softly, walking up to Kazuaki and crouching down beside him, gently grabbing his shoulders, “It’s been a long time.”

“I guess this is the end?” Kazuaki questioned, lip quivering, “You… You’re different now…”

“Am I really? You say that, but I seem to remember things a little differently,” Hitori whispered, moving a bit closer and placing a hand against Kazuaki’s cheek, staring into his eyes, “I’ve always killed you.”

“Heh…” Kazuaki frowned, chuckling bitterly and wiping his eyes, “Now that you mention it, I guess that’s the truth… So this time is going to be just the same, isn’t it?”

“Oh, no,” Hitori smiled softly, leaning in to kiss his forehead quickly, holding his face in both hands now, “Not this time. If I was going to, I’d have done it already. We’re running on borrowed time, after all. If I was just going to erase you, I’d have done it already, and not wasted time talking to you…”

“Hitori…” Kazuaki mumbled, almost fearful, almost touched.

“Did you know, Kazuaki? Planispheres can’t be given to the undeserving, but…” He smirked somewhat, reaching inside Kazuaki’s robes, “They can be stolen… And this theft, well, it has quite the interesting property,” His hand closed around Kazuaki’s Planisphere, and all The King’s fears came immediately rushing back, “It’s practically stealing the essence of a person. It’s not like erasing. If you get the planisphere back, you’ll wake up unharmed. However, it allows the thief access to any of your supernatural capabilities, and…” Hitori pulled the planisphere away, flashing a smile. Kazuaki’s smile, “Your appearance,” and that was the last Kazuaki saw before collapsing, an empty puppet without his Planisphere.

What a disadvantage. Funny, how a ticket to happiness could have such a side effect… Although, perhaps, nobody had ever considered the prospect of theft, and this was intended as a method for those who were deserving of these star compasses to pool their power, or make disguises…

In any case.

It was certainly convenient for monsters.

-

“Hitori,” Ayano mumbled, the only one listening to that story who was actually able to react, “You do realize that, if what you’re trying to do doesn’t work-”

“Well yes, but… If that happens, I may as well just erase myself along with the rest of them,” Hitori, still looking like Kazuaki, shrugged carelessly, then stepped forward towards Ayano, “And you… Are in my way. I don’t want you there.”

“Why did you bother telling them anything? And… Why are they like this?” Ayano questioned, looking around fearfully, “Hitori, this is just ridiculous. It’s not… It’s not a good thing, or a bad thing, it’s just…” She bit her thumbnail, stepping backwards, “You’re trying so hard to be nice, but if you fail, you could just end up destroying all of them…”

“Well, in the case that something strange happens, I’d just like them to know that I never really wanted to harm them,” Hitori explained, and people started stepping out from the shadows. His own court, “And I just… Took control. Their minds are their own, they heard everything I said, they just can’t do anything about it…”

“Ah…” Ayano nodded, looking around at The Dark Court, who were all giving her dirty looks. She held her arms out to her sides, eyes closed peacefully, smiling, “Well, isn’t that right? You’ve got anyone you could need. A perfect world is a one without me, isn’t it…?” She chuckled bitterly, reopening one eye.

“Don’t make me pity you,” Hitori sneered.

“So vindictive, with that face, it’s hardly fitting. Come on, Hitori. We both know you just want me gone, but could you do me one favor? I’d like to see you. Your face, one more time, please? It’d make a nice last sight, darling,” She smirked, now putting a hand on her hip and opening both eyes. Hitori sighed, but did drop the disguise for a few seconds, before Ayano was destroyed.

With that over with, he turned to the dazed Light Court, and collected their Planispheres from their pockets, holding the pile of them and staring. Staring at these stolen instruments with the knowledge of the gamble he was about to make. He turned to his own court, and blinked slowly, watching them all fall to the ground, sleeping just as similarly as all the Planisphereless Light Court. Well, except for Yuuya. He frowned and looked at him, concerned, “Yuuya. I know you’re only still standing because you’re resisting… Why?”

“Because… I don’t think I want to forget,” Yuuya shrugged, stepping a bit closer, “All the terrible things that have happened, that I’ve done, well,” His smile was gone completely now, “It feels wrong, to just give them all up to somebody. Especially if it’s you.”

“So what exactly, do you intend to do?” Hitori asked softly, still staring at the Planispheres in his hands.

“Why don’t I stay with you? I have some ability myself, after all. I could increase the success rate…” Yuuya offered, then tried a weak smile at Hitori, “I just don’t want… Everything to have meant nothing. And I don’t want you to be alone…”

“Do you understand, what that would mean?” Hitori whispered, “The way this will work, it will fabricate a world for them entirely, but for me… I’ll remember everything, and I won’t exactly… Be there. I’ll be controlling myself within the dream, from here... I’ll be an outsider in that world, and the only one to remember any of what’s happened… If you decided not to be involved, well. You would be the same.”

“Well, that just convinces me more,” Yuuya shrugged, putting an arm around Hitori’s shoulders with a sigh, “I couldn’t just leave such a handsome gent to suffer so on his own, could I?”

“I was figuring you and Higure would end up together again. That’s.. The best course of happiness, after all,” Hitori shrugged, “And the false me, would be with Kazuaki…”

“And can’t a falsified version of me still make Anghel happy? I won’t call it cheating if you don’t,” Yuuya asked, grabbing onto Hitori’s nearest arm. “If you succeed, anyhow, they’re all going to be happy regardless. But, you…”

“...” Hitori didn’t respond to that, but leaned his head against Yuuya’s arm, closing his eyes and clutching the Planispheres tighter in his hands.

-  
“Ah, Hitori! Wake up!” Kazuaki whined playfully with a smile on his face, pulling on Hitori’s arm to try and get him to stand up from the couch, “Come on! We have to get to Tosaka’s birthday party!”

“Right…” Hitori nodded slowly, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, “Is Nageki ready to go…?”

“Of course he is! Everyone’s ready except for you!” Kazuaki explained, still pulling on Hitori’s wrist, “We need to goooo, we’re gonna be laaate…”

“Everyone…? Even Hoppe…?” He questioned, standing up and running his fingers through his hair, looking around the room.

“Surprisingly, yes…” Kazuaki frowned, grabbing a hairbrush from somewhere nearby and running it through Hitori’s hair, “But you’re the only one who can drive so we really need to get going!”

“If you or Nageki drove, would you have just lefr me behind? Ah, Kazuaki, that’s unfair…” He sighed.

“No! You looked like you were sleeping really soundly and I wouldn’t want to wake you up if I didn’t have to…” Kazuaki explained, then finished brushing Hitori’s hair, “Okay, you should get your shoes, and then we have to go! I really don’t want to be late…”

“We aren’t going to be late,” Hitori rolled his eyes, getting his shoes and walking out to the car, where the others were already waiting. He slid into the driver’s seat, and Kazuaki sat shotgun on the other side (a given, no matter how often the other children attempted to call it for themselves).

“I’m so glad you all could make it!” Hiyoko greeted them upon arrival. No, really; it wasn’t like they knocked on the door or anything, she literally ran up and knocked on the car window as soon as they pulled into her driveway, a huge grin on her face as Hitori rolled the window down so she could say what she did.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Hiyoko,” Hitori smiled back, shrugging as he now opened the door and stepped out of the car, everyone else following suit, “Happy Birthday! How’re the husbands?”

“Wow, normal sounding smalltalk! What in the world happened, Uzune?” She questioned jokingly, “Usually you’re all, ‘have you been eating enough, are you satisfied in your career, are you healthy’ all at once!”

“Well, you wouldn’t want me nagging you on your birthday, would you?” He chuckled.

“I dunno! I mean yeah it’s annoying, but I sort of got used to it,” She laughed, “Ryouta and Sakuya are doing well! Sakuya’s been playing piano at this bar downtown, and he got picked up by a talent scout who wants to set him up in a concert hall! And, Ryouta got promoted at the restaurant he’s working at! He’s a manager now! But he’s still got responsibilities as a hostess, which is good, because I think he really likes it! And he’s good at it, so yeah. We’re all doing pretty great over here! How about you?” She tilted to look around Hitori, “Nageki!! I read your book review in the newspaper last week! Great commentary!”

‘Ah, thanks Hiyoko,” He smiled at her, “I’m still figuring out what I want to do now that I’ve graduated, but writing book reviews is a good way to fill some time while I sort out my thoughts.”

“It suits you! Maybe you could make a career out of that,” She offered, then turned to Kazuaki, “And you! Any word back from the publishing company?”

“Ah, not yet…” Kazuaki shook his head, stepping around the car to grab Hitori’s hand.

“But I’m sure they’ll publish your poetry, Kazuaki. It’s really wonderful,” Hitori told him, then smiled at Hiyoko again, “We’re all doing well, too. But… it is a little cold out here, shouldn’t we get inside?”

“Oh, right! The party’s waiting!” She laughed, hitting herself in the head, “Duh. Yuuya and Anghel already arrived, they got here early to help set up! So now we’re just waiting on Ryouta’s parents, and Isa!”

“All right,” Kazuaki nodded, and the whole dang crew went inside, seeing that it was set up just like all adult birthday parties, except that a few of the hors d’ouevers on the table were chunks of raw beef. Chances were that Hiyoko would be the only one partaking in that snack… luckily, there were others available for everyone else, particularly Ryouta, who was a vegetarian. Sometimes it was a wonder he got along so well with the queen of red meat.

Yuuya and Anghel were standing off to the side, chatting with Sakuya, probably about the MMO that the three of them played together. Hiyoko joined in too sometimes, as did Nageki, but they didn’t play nearly as often and were therefore not at the level cap, whereas those three had been level 85 for months now, often attempting such ridiculous feats as doing 20 person raids, just the three of them. Sometimes they succeeded, all being very skilled at the game. Sakuya had been reluctant to make an account, but once he’d gotten hooked on it he poured way too much money into the game, so it did help that their small guild had access to all the limited edition, fancy real money items.

Kazuaki used to play MMOs, but realized he had to quit cold turkey when it got to a point where he hadn’t slept in several days and almost died. This was before he’d moved in with Hitori, so he was sure he could start up again safely with him and all his siblings there to let Kazuaki know if he got to a point where it was ridiculous that he hadn’t taken a break… Yeah, that would be nice. Maybe he could join that guild! He knew a lot of the rare crafting recipes after all, and was really good at grinding for materials, so he could be helpful… Though he’d missed a few expansion packs that he’d have to get caught up with.

Ryouta seemed to be caught up in hanging around the snack table, dipping pieces of broccoli into ranch dressing. It was only another ten minutes before the Kawaras came along, accompanied by none other than Isa Souma.

“Ah, Isa,” Nageki greeted him simply, “It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“Wonderful,” He deadpanned in response, but he was always deadpanning, “I’m learning all sorts of interesting things with Mr. and Mrs. Kawara. Fascinating, how so much scientific prowess could be held by such a friendly couple.”

“Ah, Isa, there’s no need for that! You can call us Ryuuji and Rei!” Ryuuji said brightly, patting Isa’s shoulder with a bright grin on his face, then turned to his wife, “Isn’t that right, Rei?? Oh and speaking of her!” He had looked over to Hiyoko now, “Sorry about this, but she’ll have to leave an hour early to catch a flight to Panama! She’s going on a dig there! Rei, if you find any duplicates, can you bring back a cool fossil for me? I’ve been needing a new paperweight since Higure broke the last one I had…”

“Well what did you expect, letting him in your office while you had a glass paperweight?” Rei questioned, teasing him, then turned to Isa, “But, if I happen to get an extra fossil, of course. Do you want one too, Isa?”

“I don’t need one. You’ve already done so much for me, it wouldn’t be prudent to ask for any more,” Isa shrugged.

“Ah, nonsense! It’s all because of you that Rei’s even able to take these trips, Isa!” Ryuuji laughed, then pointed at Nageki, “And why he’s able to be at this party, too!”

“Your research towards strengthening impaired immune systems up to a workable level was spectacular, Isa, I’m always going to be grateful. Getting you a cool fossil would be the least I could do!” Rei added in, smiling brightly.

“Ah… thank you. In that case, it would be nice. Geology may not be my field of study, but it does interest me…” Isa nodded slowly.

“Yeaaaaaah!” Ryuuji agreed, putting an arm around each of his companions.

-

Back in the real world, everyone slept.  
No, not quite, it was as if they were corpses. Corpses lying on the stone floor of the once-glimmering palace, now dark and shadowy but, not so intimidating as the dark castle had ever been. The bodies did not move or breath, they didn’t stir at all, caught up in that fabricated dream of happiness which had been made for them.

Ah, but those two. Those two slept for real, because the gentle magic which animated the falsifications of themselves for the dream worked constantly, no matter what they did. Whether they slept (which they did quite a bit, curled into eachother peacefully) or found some way to occupy themselves while waking, there would be no faltering in their fake selves. No mistakes but humorous ones, nothing which would upset anybody.

And they watched, and were happy that everyone was happy.

The puzzle piece which could fit into either of two others,  
And the monster who had always tried to forget;

Now saddled with the guilt, remorse, all of their sins,  
Weighing down on them for all eternity  
While everyone else forgot and smiled.

So they were not quite happy.  
But they were okay.  
And again,  
They were happy that all of them, were happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it.  
> The end of TKS, and boy, it's been a wild ride...  
> But, I still have some supplementary material planned! This is just the end of the linear story.
> 
> As you know, my good friend cainreprobus contributed to this project as well, and I would like to open it up to anyone else who would like to write additional spinoffs or drabbles! Just link me to it, and, assuming you want me to, I'll add your work to the series.
> 
> And, thank you all so much for reading, and sticking with me through it all!


End file.
